Iran War Lifts Key Japanese Aluminum Premium to 11-Year High

Japan’s aluminum buyers agreed to pay the highest premium in 11 years after the Iran war disrupted supplies, a cost that’s likely to stoke inflationary pressures at the factories which use the metal.

Some buyers accepted a premium of $350 a ton for second-quarter shipments from Rio Tinto Group, and $353 a ton from South32 Ltd., according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named as the negotiations are private. That’s the highest quarterly premium since 2015, when it exceeded $400 a ton.