Proposal to amend frequency of China aluminium P1020A premium assessments

Following feedback from market participants, Fastmarkets now proposes to assess and publish the aluminium P1020A premium, cif Shanghai and aluminium P1020A premium, bonded in-whs, Shanghai twice a month on every other Tuesday, instead of the current monthly basis.

This more frequent price assessment will enable Fastmarkets to track the movements of the aluminium premiums more closely, amid higher volumes of the light metal flowing into the Asian market, include China, over the previous year.

China imported around 1.54 million tonnes of primary aluminium ingots in 2023, up from 668,734 tonnes of imports in 2022, according to Chinese customs data.

The proposed new specifications are listed below, with the proposed change in frequency in italics:

MB-AL-0345 – Aluminium P1020A premium, cif Shanghai, $/tonne
Quality: P1020A or 99.7 % Minimum Al purity (Si 0.10% max, Fe 0.20% max). Ingot
Quantity: Min 100 tonnes
Location: CIF Shanghai, premium on top of LME cash prices
Unit: USD/tonne
Timing: Within 4 weeks
Payment terms: Letter of Credit or Telegraphic Transfer, other payment terms normalized
Publication: Fortnightly, Tuesday 3-4pm London time

MB-AL-0328 – Aluminium P1020A premium, bonded in-whs, Shanghai, $/tonne
Quality: P1020A or 99.7 % Minimum Al purity (Si 0.10% max, Fe 0.20% max)
Quantity: 100 tonnes
Location: In bonded warehouse in Shanghai, premium on top of LME cash prices
Unit: USD/tonne
Timing: Within 4 weeks
Form: Ingot 
Payment terms: Letter of Credit or Telegraphic Transfer, other payment terms normalized
Publication: Fortnightly, Tuesday 3-4pm London time

These prices are part of the Fastmarkets base metals package.

The consultation period for the above proposal will start on Tuesday March 19 and end one month from the date of this pricing notice, on Tuesday April 16, with the amended frequency, subject to feedback, taking effect from Tuesday April 23.

All historical data relating to the assessment prior to the amendment will remain available in the Fastmarkets Dashboard.

To provide feedback on the China aluminium P1020 premiums, or if you would like to provide premium information by becoming a data submitter, please contact Ruby Liu by email at: pricing@fastmarkets.com. Please add the subject heading FAO: Ruby Liu re: China aluminium P1020 premium assessment. Please indicate if comments are confidential. Fastmarkets will consider all comments received and will make comments not marked as confidential available upon request.

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