The overseas secondary aluminum market continues to exhibit structural divergence. Elevated scrap prices provide strong cost support, but cautious downstream procurement and weak transaction follow-through are dampening demand-side momentum. As a result, prices remain firm while trading activity stays subdued.【SMM Analysis】

[SMM Nickel Flash] April 21, supply side, upstream suppliers continued to raise their offer prices, with a clear willingness to hold prices firm. Demand side, some steel mills made just-in-time procurement, and a small volume of transactions were concluded at high prices in the market. Overall, divergence between upstream and downstream participants persisted in the market. Supported by rigid supply-demand and cost fundamentals, the price center maintained an upward trend.

[SMM Daily Comment: Market Analysis Re-emerged, High-Grade NPI Prices Held Steady] April 20 — SMM high-grade NPI upstream sentiment factor was 3.03, up 0.03 MoM, and the high-grade NPI downstream sentiment factor was 1.83, up 0.03 MoM.

Entering the second half of March, regional divergence in China’s aluminum market became increasingly pronounced, with the divergence between inventory trends and spot price spreads in east China and south China intensifying. On the one hand, the nationwide post-holiday inventory buildup in aluminum gradually approached its end, inventory overhang pressure in east China continued to ease, circulation efficiency steadily improved, the inventory buildup momentum slowed down significantly, and.....

[SMM Cast Aluminum Alloy Morning Comment: Futures Prices Retreated After a Rapid Rise, and Market Divergence Intensified at High Levels] Overnight, the aluminum alloy 2604 contract opened higher and then fluctuated downward, opening at 23,770 yuan/mt, rising to 23,820 yuan/mt during the session, and then pulling back under pressure to a low of 23,525 yuan/mt before closing at 23,645 yuan/mt late in the session, down 80 yuan/mt from the previous settlement price, a decline of 0.34. Open interest edged up by 6 lots to 5,304 lots, with trading volume at 2,417 lots. Wait-and-see sentiment remained strong among market participants, and market divergence intensified at high levels.

[SMM Titanium Spot Update: High Costs Drive a Second Titanium Dioxide Price Increase Within the Month, While Diverging Domestic and External Demand Tests the Sustainability of the Hike] In mid-March, titanium dioxide enterprises in China collectively issued a second round of price increase notices within the month, raising domestic prices by 500 yuan/mt and export prices by $100/mt, mainly because elevated sulphuric acid prices forced cost pass-through. At present, enterprises are operating at full capacity, but mediocre domestic demand and foreign trade constrained by geopolitical factors have intensified market divergence. Expectations of tighter sulphuric acid supply still support confidence to hold prices firm, but the sustainability of the price increase remains to be verified by follow-up demand.