Japan Secondary Alloyed Aluminium Makers Seek 10 yen/kg or More Hike

Japanese secondary alloyed aluminium makers try to increase the selling price by more than 10 yen per kilogram for July shipment. They are suffered from higher cost for energy and subsidiary materials while the selling price remains low level. They try to realize the higher price by taking chance in the positive mood when primary aluminium ingot market hit new record. The makers were forced to reduce the selling price by 2-3 yen per kg for June shipment with slower automobile demand and increasing cheaper import materials. The price level is 275-280 yen per kg in melting metal including loss material. A maker source said they need 40 yen of processing charge to cover the higher cost but they now get 25-30 yen. They tried to reduce the raw materials cost to improve the profitability. However, they failed to reduce the aluminium scrap purchase price for first half of July when the market is supported by booming primary ingot market. The scrap price could increase for second half of July depending on the primary metal market. The makers try to improve the profitability through the price hike.