Premiums for primary aluminium in Italy and Spain remained on an upward trajectory this week despite benchmark premiums in Rotterdam moving the opposite way.
The divergence means the differential between Fastmarkets' P1020 premiums in Rotterdam and Italy is at its widest since 2018.
Fastmarkets assessed the
aluminium P1020A premium, fca dp Italy at $190-195 per tonne on Tuesday November 3, up from $180-185 per tonne a week ago.
Using $15 per tonne for the fca component, the premium would be around $177.50 per tonne at the midpoint on an in-warehouse basis. This compares with the
P1020A premium, in-whs dp Rotterdam, which was $125-130 per tonne on the same day.
The premium in Italy is now at its highest since October 2018. But the differential is at its widest since July 2018 when the Italy premium midpoint was at $225 per tonne and Rotterdam was $157.50 per tonne.
"The spread is the widest I have seen in a while and all the interest right now is in Italy and the Mediterranean ports....