SMM Jan. 5:
In South China's aluminum ingot market, the SMM A00 aluminum (Foshan) average price stood at 23,250 yuan/mt on Jan. 5, up 870 yuan/mt on the day, at a discount of 280 yuan/mt against the front-month contract, narrowing by 10 yuan/mt from the previous day. Post-holiday spot performance exceeded expectations in terms of firmness. On one hand, hedging positions were unwilling to sell at low prices amid the large discount backdrop; on the other hand, the strong rally prompted suppliers to slow down their sales pace, with holding prices firm and reluctant selling becoming the mainstream. Offers gradually shifted upward from -10 to +10 yuan/mt, and circulation tightened. Downstream post-holiday rigid restocking demand was released, and traders shifted from watching to actively entering the market to purchase and restock for order delivery. Recovering demand drove improved transactions. Later, as futures prices fluctuated, suppliers adjusted prices following the futures market, with only a few buyers making additional purchases, resulting in sparse actual transactions.
In South China's aluminum billet market, on Jan. 5, the processing fees for SMM 6063 aluminum billets (Guangdong) across specifications came under significant pressure and pulled back. The average processing fee for Φ90/100 was 110 yuan/mt, and for Φ120 and above specifications was 60 yuan/mt, down 160 yuan/mt from pre-holiday levels. Against the backdrop of a sharp surge in the base price, although downstream users had rigid post-holiday restocking needs, they were wary of high prices and generally pushed for lower prices in procurement. With lack of support from the futures market, subsequent processing fee offers mostly declined across the board with varying magnitudes, resulting in the coexistence of low-priced and high-priced supplies, and overall transaction performance was mixed.
