Japan Primary Al Price May Reach 200 Yen/kg for Oct-Dec

Japanese primary aluminium ingot price, the indicator for rolled aluminium products, is likely to rebound for October-December. Overseas market price currently seems to hit the bottom after the plunge. Domestic ingot price could reach 200 yen per kilogram for October-December to reflect the price rebound during July-September.

Primary aluminium price has dropped down at London Metal Exchange (LME) for January-June 2009. LME aluminium inventory continued to increase and recently reached 4.4 million tonnes.

On the other hand, Chinese government has increased national stockpile of nonferrous metals including aluminium. LME aluminium price currently turned upward thanks to Chinese strong demand.

As to currency exchange rate, Japanese yen is weaker against US dollar at present than the beginning of this year. Weak yen exchange rate and surging LME price push up the domestic ingot price.

However, the price increase would be limited. LME aluminium price seems not to surge so widely due to high inventory. Yen exchange rate might become stronger against US dollar to reflect unforeseeable US economy.