[METALS ]
METHODOLOGY AND SPECIFICATIONS GUIDE
Alumina
(Latest Update: February 2014)
Platts Alumina: Benchmark Price
Assessment Methodology
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Alumina FOB Australia
Alumina CFR China
Alumina EXW (ex-works) China
Dry bulk freight assessment methodology
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METHODOLOGY AND SPECIFICATIONS GUIDE
Platts Alumina: Benchmark Price
Assessment Methodology
Alumina FOB Australia
Platts launches on August 16, 2010, daily spot market price assessments of sandy
calcined Metallurgical/Smelter Grade Alumina (SGA) under the benchmark name
Platts Alumina Index FOB Australia (PAX Australia).
Price Assessment: Platts publishes the daily spot market price for alumina
(aluminum oxide), reflecting the price at which a cargo could be traded on FOB
Australia basis at the close of the assessment period on the day of publishing. These
assessed values are based on confirmed spot cargo transactions, or the tradable
price falling between firm cargo bids/offers, or in the absence of liquidity, where
spot market transactions would have been concluded for the benchmark grade.
Spot price bids/offers or trades basis CFR China, Middle East or Russia may be
netted back to FOB Australia basis using assessed spot freight rates for dry bulk
carriers on the day of assessment, for comparison with spot prices (bids/offers
or trades) basis FOB Australia. For netback calculations from CFR destinations,
the appropriate Handysize, Handymax or Supramax freight costs are taken into
consideration.
Spot price bids/offers or trades basis other FOB origins, such as India, Brazil or
Jamaica, are not taken directly into account when assessing prices basis FOB
Australia. However, they are actively considered for market consistency with prices
discovered or implied basis FOB Australia.
Platts spot market price assessments also take into account fundamentals of
demand/supply of alumina in Australia and key consumer markets.
Availability: Daily spot price assessments of alumina FOB Australia are published
in Platts’ real-time service Platts Metals Alert (PMA), and in Platts Metals Week
daily supplements, and daily assessments are compiled weekly in Metals Week.
Monthly averages are published on PMA, in Platts Metals Week Price Notification
Monthly Report and in Metals Week.
Frequency: Price assessments FOB Australia are published daily and reflect market
values prevailing at the close of Asian markets, typically at 5:30 pm Singapore
time (0930 GMT). The assessment is published following editorial engagement
with market participants such as producers, consumers, traders, shippers and other
active spot market participants.
ALUMINA
cargoes for loading at any time during October 1-31. Platts’ benchmark assessment
for alumina reflects the mid-point of this 30 day assessment period. Cargoes traded
from 15-30 days forward, or more than 60 days forward, may be considered for
normalization back to the typical 30-60 day window.
Cargoes for loading less than the minimum shipping timeframe of 14 days forward
will not be taken into consideration. Cargoes sold as a combination across more
than one month (for example, January, February and March loading cargoes) are not
considered to be reflective of spot market prices.
Quality: Price assessments reflect sandy calcined Metallurgical / Smelter Grade
Alumina (SGA). SGA produced in Australia meets the following typical quality
parameters:
SiO2
Fe2O3
TiO2
Na2O
ZnO
P2O5
CaO
V2O5
Loss on Ignition (300-1000 degrees C)
Alpha Phase (Alumina Alpha or Alpha content)
Specific surface area
-45 microns
+45 microns
%0.025 Max
%0.025 Max
%0.007 Max
%0.550 Max
%0.015 Max
%0.003 Max
%0.050 Max
%0.005 Max
%
%
m2/g
%
%
1.00
Max
12
Max
60-80Min-Max
12.0
Max
88.0
Min
Quality inspections are typically made at loading port. Re-assessments of quality at
delivered ports will not be considered for assessment of spot prices basis FOB Australia.
Volume: Loadings of 25,000 mt, 30,000 mt or 35,000 mt are assessed as standard.
Smaller loadings of down to 10,000 mt or larger loadings of up to 45,000 mt may
be price normalized to 30,000 mt standard. Cargoes typically load on Handysize,
Handymax or Supramax class vessels.
Premiums paid for larger spot loadings of 55,000-60,000 mt cargoes shipped on
Panamax class vessels will be considered when assessing the spot market price of
standard cargo volumes on standard vessel classes.
Credit terms: 0-30 days worth of credit is considered as standard. For longer credit
periods, assessments are normalized to payment 30 days after bill of lading date.
Contact: For comments or queries please contact alumina@platts.com.
Basis & Location: Cargoes loaded free on board at the following ports in Australia:
Bunbury and Kwinana in Western Australia; Gove in Northern Territory; Gladstone
in Queensland. Freight rates for alumina shipped from any of these ports are
normalized to Bunbury/Kwinana ports for assessment purposes.
Unit: All prices are quoted in US dollars per metric ton ($/mt).
Timing: Platts assesses cargoes loading FOB Australia typically from 30-60 days
forward from the date of publication. For instance, on September 1, Platts assesses
February 2014
Alumina CFR China
Platts publishes from August 16, 2010, daily spot market price assessments of
sandy calcined Metallurgical/Smelter Grade Alumina (SGA), under the name Platts
Alumina Index CFR China (PAX China Import). Platts has since 2004 published
weekly price assessments for alumina for delivery into China, under the name
Alumina C&F China.
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METHODOLOGY AND SPECIFICATIONS GUIDE
Price Assessment: Platts publishes the daily price for alumina (aluminum oxide),
reflecting the spot price at which a cargo could be traded on a CFR China basis
at the close of the assessment period on the day of publishing. These assessed
values are based on confirmed spot cargo transactions, or the tradable price falling
between firm cargo bids/offers, or in the absence of liquidity, where spot market
transactions would have been concluded for the benchmark grade.
ALUMINA
Credit terms: 0-30 days worth of credit is considered as standard. For longer
credit periods, assessments are normalized to payment 30 days after bill of
lading date.
Contact: For comments or queries please contact alumina@platts.com.
Alumina EXW (ex-works) China
Platts assessments also take into account fundamentals of demand / supply of
alumina in international supply centers and other key consumer markets.
Availability: Daily alumina CFR China spot price assessments are published
in Platts’ real-time service Platts Metals Alert (PMA), and in Platts Metals
Week daily supplements, and daily assessments are compiled weekly in
Metals Week. Monthly averages are published on PMA, in Platts Metals Week
Price Notification Monthly Report and in Metals Week. (Platts has published
and databased weekly alumina prices for delivery into China under the name
Alumina C&F China since 2004.)
Frequency: Price assessments CFR China are published daily and reflect market
values prevailing at the close of Asian markets, typically at 5:30 pm Singapore
time (0930 GMT). The assessment is published following editorial engagement
with market participants such as producers, consumers, traders, shippers and other
active spot market participants.
Basis & Location: Cargoes from any source for delivery into northern China
ports: Qingdao and Rizhao ports in Shandong province, Xingang port in Tianjin
and Lianyungang port in Jiangsu province. Cargoes for delivery to central China
ports: Nanjing port in Jiangsu province and Shanghai port; or southern China ports:
Zhanjiang port in Guangdong province and Fangcheng port in Guangxi province are
normalized to prices for northern China ports.
Unit: All prices are quoted in US dollars per metric ton ($/mt).
Timing: Platts assesses cargoes for delivery CFR China typically from 40-70 days
forward from the date of publication. For instance, on September 1, Platts assesses
cargoes for delivery at any time during October 10-November 10. Platts’ benchmark
assessment for alumina reflects the mid-point of the 30 day assessment period.
Cargoes traded from 25-40 days forward, or more than 70 days forward, may be
considered for normalization back to the typical 40-70 day window.
Cargoes for delivery less than the typical minimum shipping timeframe 25 days
forward will not be taken into consideration. Cargoes sold as a combination across
more than one month (for example, cargoes for January, February and March
delivery) are not considered to be reflective of spot market prices.
Quality: Prices reflect sandy calcined Metallurgical / Smelter Grade Alumina
(SGA). Platts normalizes where necessary the price for cargo quality delivered into
China, from India or other sources of supply, to Australian standard SGA quality
specifications (see above).
Volume: Standard loadings of 25,000 mt, 30,000 mt or 35,000 mt. Smaller loadings
of down to 10,000 mt or larger loadings of up to 45,000 mt may be price normalized
to 30,000 mt standard.
February 2014
Platts launches on August 16, 2010, daily spot market price assessments of
domestic Chinese Smelter Grade Alumina under the name Platts Alumina EXW
China (PAX China Domestic).
Price Assessment: Platts publishes the daily spot price for Smelter Grade Alumina
(aluminum oxide), reflecting the price at which a cargo could be traded on an
ex-works (EXW) Henan Province basis at the close of the assessment period on the
day of publishing.
These assessed values are based on confirmed spot cargo transactions, or the
tradable price falling between firm cargo bids/offers, or in the absence of liquidity,
where spot market transactions would have been concluded for the benchmark
grade.
Spot price bids/offers or trades basis ex-works in other major producing provinces,
such as Shandong and Guangxi, are normalized back to EXW Henan basis. Spot
price bids/offers or trades basis delivered to plants in other provinces will be netted
back to an ex-works basis and normalized to the Henan region.
Platts assessments take into account fundamentals of demand / supply of alumina
within China only.
Availability: Daily Alumina China EXW China Domestic spot price assessments are
published in Platts real-time service Platts Metals Alert (PMA) and in Platts Metals
Week Daily Supplement, and daily assessments are compiled weekly in Metals
Week. Monthly averages are published on PMA, in Platts Metals Week Price
Notification Monthly Report and in Metals Week.
Frequency: Price assessments are published daily and reflect spot market
values prevailing at the close of Chinese markets at 5:30 pm local time (0930
GMT). The assessment is published following editorial engagement with market
participants such as producers, consumers, traders, distributors and other active
spot market participants.
Basis & Location: Cargoes loaded ex-works major plants in Henan Province. Rail
and truck transportation rates for alumina sold on delivered basis to other provinces
are netted off, for assessment of prices basis ex-works Henan Province. Domestic
prices reported basis ex-works Shandong or Guangdong province are normalized to
prices in Henan province.
Timing: Platts assesses spot alumina transactions for immediate loading (after
payment), for delivery (by truck or rail) within 2-7 days. Platts does not take into
consideration term deals or producer posting prices which are not reflective of
spot activity.
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METHODOLOGY AND SPECIFICATIONS GUIDE
ALUMINA
Dry bulk freight assessment methodology
Unit: All prices are quoted in Chinese Yuan per metric ton. A conversion to US
dollars ($/mt) is also published.
Volume: Platts assesses tonnage for spot trade of minimum 1,000 mt lots. Cargoes
are mostly delivered by rail and truck. Alumina is typically packaged in bags of 1.5
mt each.
Quality: Price assessments reflect Smelter Grade Alumina, which meets the
latest Chinese official industrial standard under code GB/T24487-2009, which
took effect June 1, 2010. Chinese Smelter Grade Alumina is grouped in three
categories under the official standard: AO1, AO2, and AO3, all of which are
acceptable for local spot trade, with no obvious price differentials between
them. Platts will assess alumina with Aluminum Oxide (Al2O3) content of
minimum 98.4%.
CategoryAI2O3 SiO2
min %
max %
AO-1
98.6
0.02
AO-2
98.5
0.04
AO-3
98.4
0.06
Fe2O3Na2O
0.020.5
0.020.5
0.030.7
Platts assesses daily spot market freight assessments for dry bulk vessels shipped
around the Asia-Pacific region. Assessments are published following editorial
engagement with market participants such as producers, consumers, traders, vessel
owners, shipbrokers and other active spot market participants.
The following specifications apply for assessment of vessels carrying alumina from
Australia to China:
Route: Australia-China
Port to Port: Bunbury/Kwinana ports in Western Australia to Lianyungang port in
Northern China.
Vessel Type: Assessments represents the cost of chartering a standard Handysize
class vessel. Rates for Handymax and Supramax vessels will be normalized to
Handysize rates. Standard vessels are considered to be well approved tonnage of
no more than 25 years old. Alumina is typically bought and sold on spot basis in
25,000 mt, 30,000 mt and 35,000 mt cargoes.
Timing: Platts assesses freight fixtures for vessels loading FOB Australia (bound
for China) 30-60 forward from the date of publication. For instance, on September 1,
Platts assesses rates for loadings at any time during October 1-31. Fixtures for more
prompt timings or for further forward timings may be normalized.
Other main chemical content includes V2O5, P2O5, TiO2, and MnO.
Loss on Ignition (300-1000 degrees C): 1.00% Max
Quality inspections: Typically made at smelters upon cargo arrival.
Frequency: Price assessments are published daily and reflect spot market values
prevailing at the close of Asian markets at 5:30 pm Singapore time (0930 GMT).
Credit terms: Payment prior to loading. Typically payment occurs within 5 working
days after the contract is signed. Longer credit periods will be normalized to this
standard, where necessary.
Unit: All prices are quoted in US dollars per metric ton ($/mt). Platts converts US
dollar lump-sum and per day rates into $/mt equivalents.
Contacts: For comments or queries please contact alumina@platts.com
Contact: For comments or queries please contact alumina@platts.com.
February 2014
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