This week, the overseas aluminium market overall remained in the doldrums. Weak demand continued to be the core issue across major markets, with offer prices in Japan, South Korea, Thailand, the US, and China generally under pressure. Trading activity was sluggish, and the tug-of-war between sellers and buyers persisted, with the market lacking clear directional guidance overall.
The Japanese market remained relatively quiet this week, with focus still on the progress of Q4 MJP negotiations. Some sellers are still negotiating premiums with buyers, but the two sides have significant differences in price expectations, and negotiations are progressing slowly. As a result, the MJP market remains subdued, with limited spot market transactions reported. Most participants are adopting a wait-and-see approach, waiting for quarterly pricing to be finalised before taking action. The stalemate between the two sides has left the market lacking trading momentum.
Although there was some demand in the Vietnamese market this week, market activity remained limited. Notably, only some sellers participated in quoting during buyer inquiries, and market participation was clearly insufficient. Buyers and sellers struggled to connect effectively, resulting in very few transactions.
With limited demand-side support and weak willingness among sellers to quote, local prices remained at relatively low levels. Coupled with waning trader participation and a slowdown in end-user procurement pace, premium levels in the Vietnamese market are unlikely to find effective support in the short term and are expected to remain at low levels.