China's Chalco flies aluminium cargo to Thailand as Iran war tightens supply

Reuters04-03
China's Chalco flies aluminium cargo to Thailand as Iran war tightens supply

BEIJING, April 3 (Reuters) - China's Chalco Trading Group exported a small cargo of aluminium products by air to Thailand, the company said in a social media post this week, in a rare move that may highlight tightening supply outside China in the wake of the Iran war.

  • Chalco Trading Group is a wholly owned subsidiary of Aluminum Corporation of China (Chalco) 601600.SS, a leading global aluminium producer.

  • The trading company exported 10 metric tons of a type of aluminium alloy product to Thailand by air in response to an "urgent demand" from a client, it said in a statement on its WeChat account on Tuesday.

  • Transporting aluminium products by air is rare, said analysts.

  • The company also shipped a separate 500 tons of the aluminium alloy product to the client.

  • The move marked the company's first export of such a product, it said, adding that the deal was priced in yuan.

  • It was not immediately clear whether the urgent shipment had to do with the supply fallout from the conflict in the Middle East.

  • The conflict has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, freezing aluminium shipments out of the Gulf that accounted for roughly 9% of global aluminium supply.

  • Iran's recent attacks on two of the region's biggest aluminium smelters have heightened the risk of a supply deficit even if the waterway is opened.

  • Chalco Trading Group and Chalco did not respond to Reuters requests for further comment.

(Reporting by Amy Lv and Lewis Jackson; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

((Amy.Lv@thomsonreuters.com;))

At the request of the copyright holder, you need to log in to view this content

Disclaimer: Investing carries risk. This is not financial advice. The above content should not be regarded as an offer, recommendation, or solicitation on acquiring or disposing of any financial products, any associated discussions, comments, or posts by author or other users should not be considered as such either. It is solely for general information purpose only, which does not consider your own investment objectives, financial situations or needs. TTM assumes no responsibility or warranty for the accuracy and completeness of the information, investors should do their own research and may seek professional advice before investing.

Comments

We need your insight to fill this gap
Leave a comment