Overall, aluminum ingot destocking provided some support for spot premiums/discounts, but with aluminum prices remaining high, downstream purchasing was weak. Amid this tug-of-war, spot premiums/discounts weakened slightly. In east China, around the market opening, suppliers mainly offered at the average price, with average transaction volumes. Coupled with stronger aluminum prices, actual transactions were mainly at a discount of around 10 yuan/mt against the SMM average price. In central China, spot transactions were average today. As aluminum prices strengthened, downstream shipments increased slightly, but downstream buying sentiment weakened. Some downstream players reported longer payment cycles and a decline in orders on hand, raising concerns about the sustainability of demand. Actual transactions were mainly at a discount of 10 yuan/mt to parity against the SMM average price.

During the survey period (July 15 - July 21), both the operating rate and capacity utilization rate of wire rod in Central China declined this week. Specifically, some steel mills in Henan Province slightly increased their capacity utilization rates during this period. However, at the same time, individual steel mills in Hubei Province had completed their monthly wire rod production plans and chose to continue shutting down their wire rod rolling lines to increase production of other varieties of steel. As a result, the production of wire rod decreased significantly.

During the survey period (July 15 - July 21), the operating rate of rebar rolling lines in the Central China region remained stable, while the capacity utilization rate increased slightly. Specifically, in this period, some steel mills in Hubei province in the region chose to cut production on rebar rolling lines due to the good order-taking situation for steel billets recently. However, at the same time, steel mills in Hunan province completed scheduled maintenance on rolling lines, resulting in a slight rise in the capacity utilization rate of rebar and a marginal increase in production.