Tokyo — Japan's spot seaborne aluminum trade volume rebounded in July from two months of lackluster volumes, as inventory which was built up following the US sanctions on Rusal, started to be drawn down, according to S&P Global Platts data.
Platts-observed spot CIF Japan trades totaled 5,200 mt over seven transactions in July, compared with 2,750 mt in June and 3,250 mt in May. The volume of trades in July was also higher than the 4,500 mt recorded in July last year.
The spot volume surged to 15,500 mt in April following US sanctions against Rusal. Some traders' stocks started to run low, market sources said.
Separately, some market participants said unloading at Yokohama port started to take longer since May after the completion of Custom Immigration Quarantine office at the Daikoku pier.
The Daikoku pier, where aluminum is unloaded, serves passenger cruise vessels as well as bulk and container vessels.
Passenger cruise vessel traffic increased after the CIQ office was set up, leading to congestion and a longer time taken to unload cargoes, industry sources said.
Additional charges from longer discharging time are not reflected on CIF trades, but are typically exacted for local spot trades on ex-warehouse or delivered basis, Japanese traders said.
