SMM, May 14:
In the morning session today, the center of SHFE aluminum prices continued to rise, stabilizing above 20,000 yuan/mt. In east China, as inventory levels have been destocking recently and expectations for subsequent arrivals are low, suppliers generally have a strong sentiment to stand firm on quotes. The market mainly saw spot premiums of 5-10 yuan/mt against SMM transactions. Today, SMM A00 aluminum was quoted at 20,210 yuan/mt, up 200 yuan/mt from the previous trading day, with a premium of 20 yuan/mt against the May contract.
In the central China market, inventory continued to destock, and suppliers had a strong sentiment to stand firm on quotes. However, after the center of aluminum prices rose, market demand decreased. In the central China market, spot aluminum opened at a discount, with spot premiums experiencing a price collapse, trading at a discount of 10-20 yuan/mt against SMM transactions in central China. SMM A00 aluminum in central China was recorded at 20,180 yuan/mt against the SHFE aluminum 2505 contract, up 180 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. The price spread between central China and east China was -30 yuan/mt, with a discount of 10 yuan/mt against the 2505 contract.
On the inventory side, as of May 14, the inventory of aluminum ingots across three domestic regions was 471,400 mt, representing a destocking of 8,000 mt WoW. With aluminum prices returning to the high level of 20,000 yuan/mt, it is expected to significantly curb downstream consumption. The pace of inventory destocking will slow down, and spot premiums will be suppressed.
