"South Korean buyers have not yet agreed (with suppliers) on second-quarter term premiums and China has been quiet," he said. He assessed premium offers for spot aluminium at above $45 per tonne following the settlement last week of term premiums for second-quarter shipments to Japan at around $44-$45, up from $37-$38 for the first quarter.

Earlier, South Korea's Supply Administration (SAROK) said it would buy 7,000 tonnes of high-grade primary aluminium from domestic and overseas suppliers. A trader said the announcement would help push spot premiums higher but added that South Korean suppliers may have already secured ingots to offer intotender, as the move had been somewhat anticipated.

Another trader said that while enquiries for second-quarter shipments to Japan were scarce, he had heard of deals for third-quarter shipments at premiums of about $50. "Some people who are concerned about possible rises in the premiums have started to buy for the third quarter, but many are still taking a wait-and-see attitude," he said.

Traders said it was difficult to expect a sharp decline in spot premiums in the near future as demand was likely to remain weak. A trader said that while inventories at the ports of Yokohama and Nagoya remain on a downward trend, mainly due to reduced imports, current levels were not low enough to trigger a buying spree from end-users.

Trade sources estimate that aluminium stocks at the two ports fell to about 2,76,000 tonnes at the end of February from 3,01,000 tonnes at the end of January and from 3,18,000 tonnes at the end of December. Yokohama and Nagoya account for about 90 per cent of stocks at Japanese ports.