SHANGHAI, Sep 8 (SMM) - The followings are the latest aluminium ingot and billet social inventories.
Aluminium ingot: The aluminium ingot social inventories across China’s eight major markets totalled 672,000 mt as of September 8, down 11,000 mt from a week ago and 73,000 mt from a year ago. Wuxi, Foshan and Gongyi all experienced small-scale destocking. The market transactions in east China and Gongyi weakened this week, but stockpiling by some downstream companies ahead of the Mid-Autumn Festival allowed the local inventory to drop slightly. Inventory in Foshan also declined as the previous output cuts in Sichuan led to fewer arrivals in the region. Considering that it is difficult for Sichuan's output to fully recover in September, the overall inventory will stay at a low level.
Aluminium billet: The domestic aluminium billet social inventories decreased by 2,100 mt on a weekly basis as of September 8. Except for an accumulation in Foshan, all the other regions saw a decline in their inventories. Large arrivals and only a slight improvement of downstream demand pushed up the inventory in Foshan. Inventories in Wuxi and Huzhou declined 2,600 mt and 2,000 mt respectively thanks to pre-holiday stocking. Inventories in Changzhou and Nanchang dropped slightly. Market sentiment has shown signs of improvement, even though downstream order situation has not yet shown significant recovery so far this month, which should have been the start of the peak season. Bullishness towards aluminium prices amid the power shortages in Yunnan and the upcoming holiday drove downstream buyers to stock up at low prices, contributing to the destocking process.
