U.S. Gulf:
Low domestic contract values relative to current international spot rates continued to suppress spot import demand, sources noted. Last-done remained unchanged in the $135-$140/mt CFR range, while players pointed to $160/mt CFR as the minimum needed to attract a vessel in the current market.
Gulf Coast:
Gulf Coast contracts were quoted at $85-$110/st DEL for 2021. Sources put Lower Atlantic agreements in a general $90-$110/st DEL range.
Midwest:
Sources reported sulacid delivered prices to the U.S. Midwest on par with the Gulf at $85-$110/st DEL.
West Coast:
West Coast tons were quoted in the $100-$130/st DEL range for 2021 contracts.
Brazil:
Brazil imports were heard lifting into the upper-$160s/mt CFR in recent trading. The market was previously reported at $155-$160/mt CFR.
China:
Aluminum producer China Hongqiao is planning to relocate up to 1 million mt/y of smelting capacity from Shandong to Yunnan, Reuters reported. The move would allow Hongqiao to take advantage of cheap, abundant hydropower widely available in the southern province.
Hongqiao in 2019 announced plans to relocate 2 million mt/y of smelting capacity to Yunnan’s Wenshan prefecture, and began that project in September 2020. The additional 1 million mt/y increase, expected to be based in the neighboring Honghe prefecture, would see nearly 50 percent of the company’s 6.46 million mt/y capacity shifted to Yunnan.
Hongqiao is China’s second-largest aluminum producer, after state-run Chinalco.
Primary lead smelters operating in Henan, Hunan, and Yunnan provinces operated at a combined 57.7 percent capacity for the week ending May 14, Shanghai Metals Market reported, a 3.7-point increase from week-ago levels. Concluded maintenance turnarounds at Henan Yuguang Gold and Lead, Jinli Gold and Lead, Hunan Yuteng, and Yunnan Chihong contributed to the rising levels, while a maintenance turnaround at Liaoning Haicheng was scheduled to halt production for an estimated 20 days.
Secondary lead smelters located in Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan, and Guizhou provinces increased total utilization to 50.86 percent, up from the week-ago 50.73 percent. The increase was largely attributed to a production ramp-up from Guizhou Canxian.