A cargo of 30,000 tonnes of Chinese-origin alumina has been sold at 2,810 yuan ($417.10) per tonne fob Yantai port to Glencore in recent days, a source familiar with the matter told Fastmarkets on Friday March 29.
The price is equivalent to around 2,560 yuan per tonne ex-works, taking into account nearly 250 yuan per tonne for freight to Yantai port and other costs. This is 3.8% or 100 yuan per tonne lower than Fastmarkets' latest Chinese alumina price of 2,650-2,670 yuan per tonne delivered duty-paid as of Thursday March 28. The cargo has been loaded and was approaching Yantai port in northeast of China this week with its destination unknown, several sources confirmed earlier this week. Glencore declined to comment when contacted by Fastmarkets on Friday. This is the first "new-order" shipment this year and indicates a possible opening of an export arbitrage for alumina from China into the international market, sources said. In April last year, China started to supply...