London 21/03/2016 - Initial deals for second-quarter ingot supply have been done at $115 per tonne for delivery to major Japanese ports (MJP) with one aluminium producer, a source close to the matter said.
"We have concluded some tonnages with one of the aluminium producers at $115," he said.
This is down 12 percent from offers initially tabled by producers at $130 per tonne late in February but up 4.5 percent for the first-quarter MJP settlement at $110.
Still, other producers have not lowered their offers after Japanese aluminium buyers bid for $115 per tonne.
"It is unknown how long we will wait for deals to be done with other producers after our bids," the first source added.
Stocks of aluminium at Japan's major ports edged 0.67 percent lower to 365,600 tonnes in February to their lowest since October 2014, according to data from trading house Marubeni Corp. But the pace at which they are falling is slowing.
On the spot market, aluminium ingots have been trading in Japan at spot premiums of $105-125 per tonne and have averaged $114 since the start of 2016, according to FastMarkets' assessments.
Japan typically meets almost all of its 1.7 million tonnes of annual demand for aluminium ingots from imports; supply is predominantly negotiated on a quarterly basis.
(Edited by Mark Shaw)