Recently, the Exchange received the relevant application materials submitted by Yunnan Qiya Metal Co., Ltd. In accordance with the "Shanghai Futures Exchange Rules on the Administration of Deliverable Commodities for Nonferrous Metals" and other relevant regulations, and after due consideration, the Exchange has decided as follows: 1. To approve the registration of "QY" brand aluminum ingots produced by Yunnan Qiya Metal Co., Ltd. with the Exchange, with a registered capacity of 350,000 mt, and to apply the standard price. 2. The above-mentioned products are eligible for physical delivery against the Exchange's aluminum futures contracts as of the date of this announcement. The product specifications are as follows: Registered enterprise: Yunnan Qiya Metal Co., Ltd. Place of origin: Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Product name: Aluminum Ingot for Remelting Registered trademark: QY Dimensions: approx. 820*180*110 mm Piece weight: approx. 25 kg Bundle weight: approx. 1,100 kg Per delivery unit (25 mt): consists of approx. 23 bundles Packaging: 0.9×32 mm galvanized steel strapping, applied in a "#" pattern, tightly strapped. Applicable standard: as specified in the contract This announcement is hereby made. Shanghai Futures Exchange July 1, 2026

The gap between Q3 QMJP offers and actual transaction prices in the Japanese market has widened significantly. At present, the physical spot premium for primary aluminum ingots in Japan stands at USD 395 per metric ton, representing a month-on-month increase of USD 43.5 per ton versus Q2. Nevertheless, overall market sentiment remains bearish, with spot transactions oscillating around the USD 385 per ton mark. The dual pressures from supply and demand fundamentals constitute the core driver behind the softening spot premium in Japan. On the supply side, market expectations for growing global aluminum supply surplus have intensified steadily. In addition, steady progress has been made in resuming aluminum production capacity in the Middle East, reinforcing expectations of rising overseas supply and capping upward room for spot premiums. On the demand side, Japan has entered its traditional seasonal lull in consumption as scheduled. Downstream end-users have slowed purchasing activity amid sluggish demand, gaining stronger bargaining power and shifting the supply-demand negotiation dynamic firmly in favor of buyers. As a result, the spread between QMJP ingot offers and physical transaction prices in Japan ranges from USD 65 to 70 per ton. Following the official release of Q3 QMJP pricing, spot offer prices in Japan firmed up temporarily, yet this failed to boost trading volumes, leaving the market locked in a stalemate between bulls and bears. Amid persistent expectations of expanded supply, the temporary firmness in spot prices is projected to give way to corrective declines. The bearish overall trend for Japanese aluminum ingot premiums in Q3 is unlikely to reverse. In other regional markets, trading activity in the spot aluminum ingot markets of Thailand and South Korea remained extremely muted this week with subdued overall liquidity. In the early week, ahead of the official publication of Q3 QMJP benchmarks, both traders and downstream manufacturers adopted a wait-and-see stance, limiting inventory restocking strictly to immediate operational needs. After the latest Q3 QMJP prices were released, benchmark levels fell short of pre-market consensus forecasts, prompting sellers across Southeast Asia and South Korea to lift their asking prices. Actual trading data, however, shows downstream buyers in Thailand and South Korea continued to purchase only to cover rigid demand, lacking substantive demand support. Spot premiums and discounts have thus remained range-bound at elevated levels. In the short term, resuming Middle Eastern smelter capacity and incremental overseas aluminum supply will continue to cap premium upside, compounded by weak seasonal end-user demand that adds further downward pressure to the market. Asian spot aluminum ingot premiums and discounts are therefore expected to maintain divergent, softening momentum, marked by volatile asking prices and persistently thin physical trading volumes in the near term.

Japan’s Q3 QMJP offers and transaction price spreads were wide, with actual spot premiums for Japanese aluminum ingot currently at $395/mt, up $43.5/mt QoQ from Q2. However, the overall market remained weak, with spot transactions consolidating around $380/mt. The core driver behind the weakening spot premiums in the Japanese market this time was dual pressure from supply and demand. Supply side, market expectations for incremental global aluminum supply release continued to heat up. In addition, the pace of production resumptions at Middle Eastern aluminum capacity progressed steadily, reinforcing expectations for overall supply release outside China and capping upside room for spot premiums. Demand side, the traditional consumption off-season in Japan arrived as expected, with downstream end-users slowing their procurement pace and demand lacking momentum. This strengthened downstream bargaining power, and the tug-of-war between upstream and downstream tilted decisively in favor of buyers. As a result, the spread between Japan QMJP aluminum ingot offers and actual transaction prices stood at $65-70/mt. After the official release of Q3 QMJP prices, Japan’s spot market offers briefly firmed, but this did not lead to a recovery in transactions, and a stalemate between bulls and bears persisted. Against the backdrop of strengthening supply release expectations, spot prices are expected to undergo a pullback adjustment after their brief firmness, making the overall weak pattern for Q3 Japanese aluminum ingot premiums difficult to reverse. Regional markets, spot aluminum ingot trading sentiment in Thailand and South Korea was very sluggish this week, with overall market activity low. Early in the week, as Q3 QMJP had not yet officially settled, traders and downstream enterprises generally held a wait-and-see sentiment, and the market was mainly characterized by just-in-time stockpiling. Following the official release of the latest Q3 QMJP prices, as the overall pricing fell short of earlier market expectations, sellers in Southeast Asia and South Korea raised their offers. However, judging from actual transactions, downstream enterprises in Thailand and South Korea still stuck to just-in-time procurement mode, with insufficient support from real market demand, and spot premiums maintained a pattern of consolidation at highs overall. In the short term, production resumptions in the Middle East and incremental supply release outside China will continue to cap the upside for premiums, while weak end-user demand during the off-season further compounds market pressure. Going forward, Asian aluminum ingot spot premiums are expected to continue a divergent and weak trend, with fluctuating offers and sluggish transactions remaining persistent features. [Data source statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on public data, market communication, and SMM’s internal database models, and are for reference only; they do not constitute decision-making advice.] Data source: SMM

According to SMM statistics, on July 2, aluminum billet inventory in China's mainstream consumption areas dropped to 130,000 mt, down 4,000 mt from last Monday and 10,000 mt from last Thursday, with the destocking pace accelerating markedly. Compared with the same period, it was 23,500 mt lower than in 2025 and 9,700 mt lower than in 2024, pushing total inventory to the lowest level for the same period in the past three years. In terms of warehouse withdrawals,

SMM, July 3: In the morning session, the SHFE aluminum 2606 contract traded at a higher center than the same period of the previous trading day. Buying sentiment picked up somewhat, boosted by Friday stockpiling, but remained at a weak level. Market liquidity was relatively ample, with mainstream transactions at parity to a premium of 10 yuan/mt against the SHFE aluminum July contract. In east China today, the shipment sentiment index stood at 2.91, flat MoM, while the procurement sentiment index came in at 2.79, up 0.06 MoM. Following the sharp drop on the futures market, aluminum prices rebounded for two consecutive days, yet bearish sentiment in the central China market remained strong. With the weekend stockpiling cycle approaching, downstream processing enterprises still mainly made just-in-time procurement, with only small-scale raw material stockpiling, leaving the overall market trading atmosphere largely sluggish. Suppliers also showed limited willingness to hold prices firm. Ultimately, actual transaction prices in the central China market were centered around a discount of 50-70 yuan/mt against the SHFE aluminum July contract. In the central China market today, the shipment sentiment index was 2.89, up 0.01 MoM, while the procurement sentiment index stood at 2.12, up 0.01 MoM. On the inventory front, aluminum ingot inventories in major consumption areas fell by 1.95 MoM today, with all three regions showing destocking.

SMM News, July 3: Today, SMM A00 spot aluminum prices closed at 22,760 yuan/mt, up 220 yuan/mt from the previous trading day, and aluminum scrap prices largely followed suit. The supply side remained tight as supervision over the "reverse invoicing" policy continued to tighten. Production cuts and shutdowns spread among small and medium-sized scrap utilization enterprises in Anhui, Jiangxi, Hubei and other regions, and Shandong also heard news of suspending reverse invoicing from July, further increasing the scarcity of compliant invoiced aluminum scrap. Regarding price spreads, on July 2, the price difference between A00 aluminum and mixed aluminum extrusion scrap free of paint in Foshan was recorded at 1,931 yuan/mt, and the price difference between A00 aluminum and shredded aluminum tense scrap was 623 yuan/mt. Notably, under the dual pressure of rapidly declining aluminum prices and tight invoice availability, the price spread for aluminum tense scrap narrowed sharply. Some cast aluminum alloy enterprises have begun using A00 aluminum ingots as a substitute for aluminum scrap as raw material. On the import side, besides low port arrivals in June-August due to the 1-3 month shipping lag, the UAE's four-month temporary export ban on aluminum scrap starting in June and the EU's proposed 15% tariff from September have significantly strengthened expectations of shrinking overseas high-quality scrap supply, and the import supply chain will suffer substantial damage. The aluminum scrap market is expected to continue to consolidate at low levels, but the downside room for prices is limited. The mainstream range of shredded aluminum tense scrap prices based on aluminum content is projected at 19,200-19,800 yuan/mt (tax excluded). Supply side, the constraints from the reverse invoicing policy are unlikely to reverse in the short term, and the tight supply of compliant invoiced cargo will persist. Import side, multiple headwinds will gradually materialize in the form of depressed actual port arrivals in the coming months, and the supply of imported aluminum scrap will weaken further. Demand side, amid the deepening off-season, downstream operating rates remain low, end-user orders are unlikely to see substantial improvement, and scrap utilization enterprises will likely continue their strategy of purchasing as needed and maintaining low inventories. The price spread between aluminum scrap and primary aluminum has narrowed to a historical low, significantly eroding the economic advantage of scrap over primary aluminum. If aluminum prices continue to fall, the substitution effect will accelerate and become more evident.