Proposal to launch bauxite cif China price assessment, discontinue fob bauxite prices

The existing bauxite prices are on an fob basis, and following preliminary market feedback, a cif price would allow for a greater volume of data to be collected and better reflect the current market preference.

The proposed price specification is as follows:

Bauxite, cif China, $/dmt
Quality: Total alumina 48.5% min, 53% max; total silica 1.20% min, 2.10% max; reactive silica 3.2% max; Fe 22% max; Ti 4% max; organic carbon 0.15% max; moisture content 5.5% min, 7.5% max.
Quantity: Minimum 20,000 tonnes
Location: cif China
Timing: Within 2 months
Unit: USD per dry metric tonne
Payment: 30 days after loading. (other payment terms normalized)
Publication: Monthly. Third Thursday of the month, 3-4pm London time
Notes: Bulk carrier; accepted origins – Guinea, Australia, Indonesia, Brazil

It is proposed that the price 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 alumina prices.

Fastmarkets welcomes market feedback on other origins that could be accepted for this price.

Fastmarkets is also proposing to discontinue the existing fob bauxite prices for Guinea (MB-BX-0014) and Brazil (MB-BX-0015) prices, if the launch of the cif China bauxite price goes ahead.

The consultation period for this proposed launch/discontinuation starts on April 22 and will end on May 20.

The launch/discontinuation will take place, subject to market feedback, on June 16.

To provide feedback on this price or if you would like to provide price information by becoming a data submitter to this price, 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.