Fastmarkets to launch cif China bauxite price, discontinue fob Guinea, extend fob Brazil consultation

Following the conclusion of a one-month consultation, Fastmarkets will launch an assessment of the price for bauxite, cif China, $ per dmt, will discontinue its existing bauxite fob Guinea price assessment, and will extend the consultation on its fob Brazil price assessment regarding alignment of new specifications.

With the consultation period ended, Fastmarkets has launched the bauxite, cif China, $ per dmt, price assessment to better reflect changing market preferences and to allow for a greater volume of data to be collected.

The new price will have amended methodology specifications, which are as follows:
MB-BX-0016 Bauxite, cif China, $ per dmt
Quality: Total alumina 50%; total silica 5%; Fe 20% max; moisture content 7% min, 10% max; organic carbon 0.15% max
Quantity: Min 40,000 tonnes
Location: cif China
Timing: Within two months
Unit: USD per dmt
Payment terms: LC (other payment terms normalized)
Publication: Monthly; third Thursday of the month, 3-4pm London time
Notes: Bulk carrier; accepted origins – Guinea, Australia, Indonesia

The price, which will be launched on June 16, will be in a range rather than a single number, to better reflect the market level, with a monthly publication time of 3-4pm London time to align with Fastmarkets’ other aluminium prices.

The launch of the cif China assessment will result in the discontinuation of the assessment of the fob Guinea price (MB-BX-0014) as indicated in the consultation, while assessment of the fob Brazil price (MB-BX-0015) will continue because the current high freight rates on the route make trade to China non-viable.

Fastmarkets is extending the consultation for a further four weeks to align the fob Brazil specifications to those for the cif China price.

The consultation will run for four weeks, ending on June 23, with any changes starting from the next assessment on July 21.

The current fob Brazil methodology specifications are as follows:
MB-BX-0015 Bauxite, fob Trombetas, Brazil, $ per dmt
Quality: Total alumina 50.5% min, 55% max; total silica 4.3% min, 5.6% max; reactive silica 4% min, 5% max; Fe 12% max; Ti 1.5% max; moisture content 9% min, 10% max
Quantity: Min 20,000 tonnes
Location: fob Trombetas (other ports normalized)
Timing: Within two months
Unit: USD per dmt
Payment terms: 30 days after loading (other payment terms normalized)
Publication: Monthly; third Thursday of the month, between 2pm and 3pm London time
Notes: Bulk carrier

The proposed methodology specifications are:
MB-BX-0015 Bauxite, fob Trombetas, Brazil, $ per dmt
Quality: Total alumina 50%; total silica 5%; Fe 20% max; moisture content 7% min, 10% max; organic carbon 0.15% max
Quantity: Min 40,000 tonnes
Location: fob Trombetas (other ports normalized)
Timing: Within two months
Unit: USD per dmt
Payment terms: 30 days after loading (other payment terms normalized)
Publication: Monthly; third Thursday of the month, 3-4pm London time
Notes: Bulk carrier

The price will be in a range rather than a single number to better reflect the market level, with a monthly publication time of 3-4pm London time to align with Fastmarkets’ other aluminium prices.

To provide feedback on these prices, or if you would like to provide price information by becoming a data submitter to these prices, please contact Carrie Bone by email at: pricing@fastmarkets.com. Please add the subject heading ‘FAO: Carrie Bone re: Bauxite, cif China.’

To see all Fastmarkets’ pricing methodology and specification documents, go to https://www.fastmarkets.com/about-us/methodology.