Overview:According to feedback from relevant clients, the freight for bulk carriers from Guinea to China has been continuously raised, with current quotations at $35 or higher, and ore prices continue to rise. Ocean freight rate increases, coupled with higher mine costs driven by oil prices and the traditional rainy season in Guinea, have led to a decline in shipments of bauxite from Guinea to China, while bauxite quotations continue to rise. China’s alumina refineries still hold high inventories, and intended transaction prices are low. Overall, the divergence between offer and bid prices in the bauxite upstream and downstream sectors has widened, and in August, both the Guinea-China long-term contract and bulk markets have been in continuous negotiation. Other non-mainstream ores have also seen their quotation ranges consolidate at highs amid rising ocean freight rates and oil price-driven cost increases, with market transactions remaining sluggish. Based on rising bauxite costs and the progress of long-term contract price negotiations for August as benchmarks: Today, the CIF quotation for Guinea bauxite was $70-74/mt, with the average price up $1/mt from the previous trading day; the FOB quotation for Guinea bauxite was $38-42/mt, with the average price unchanged; and the imported bauxite CIF index stood at $71.57/mt, up $0.7/mt from the previous trading day.