Among them, the Gulf region was an important consumer market for China in the Middle East: China’s exports of aluminum plate/sheet and strip to Saudi Arabia reached 42,500 mt, and aluminum foil 58,000 mt; exports of aluminum plate/sheet and strip to the UAE reached 103,500 mt, and aluminum foil 93,800 mt; the other four countries (Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, and Oman) accounted for combined exports of about 22,000 mt of aluminum plate/sheet and strip and about 11,000 mt of aluminum foil.

Recently, at the alumina project site of the Guinea Aluminum Development Project (Phase II), as the inlet valve of the CMST oil depot was successfully opened following BV inspection, three brand-new 60,000-liter diesel storage tanks were officially put into use, marking a key breakthrough in the project’s capacity for independent energy security. Since construction of the alumina project under the Guinea Aluminum Development Project (Phase II) began in October 2025, unstable diesel supply had become a critical bottleneck constraining faster progress in project construction. In the face of severe challenges, the Guinea company regarded diesel as a “survival resource,” elevated supply security to a strategic priority, acted swiftly and proactively。

According to foreign media reports, as the ongoing escalation of geopolitical conflict in the Middle East disrupted navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, shipments of aluminum products in the region had “stalled.” Mercuria Energy Group, the world’s largest independent integrated energy and commodities trading house, was expected to urgently withdraw nearly 100,000 mt of aluminum from London Metal Exchange (LME) warehousing facilities to ease the supply gap in European and US markets. Three sources familiar with the matter revealed that Switzerland-based Mercuria had on Monday canceled warrants for, or earmarked for delivery, nearly 100,000 mt of aluminum stored in LME-approved warehouses at Port Klang. Mercuria has so far declined to comment on the move.

Recently, construction began on the annual output project of 8,000 mt of aluminum alloy products by Henan Yuanguangcheng New Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Yuanguangcheng Technology”) in the Queshan County Development Zone. This marked a critical step forward for Queshan County in advancing advanced manufacturing and improving the intelligent equipment manufacturing industry chain. The project is located on the southwest side of Gongye 1st Road and Kaiyuan Road in the Queshan County Development Zone, covering nearly 30 mu, with a total investment of 81 million yuan. It is expected to build high-standard factory buildings and modern production lines, with a total construction area of 25,000 m².

On March 11, the low-grade bauxite comprehensive utilization project in Wuchuan Autonomous County was fully completed. The project is located in Canglang Community, Zhuoshui Town, Wuchuan Autonomous County, with a total investment of 110 million yuan. After the project begins operation, it is expected to process 300,000 mt/year of low-grade bauxite and mine waste slag, produce about 160,000 mt/year of aluminum concentrate ore, and generate annual output value of up to 100 million yuan. It was understood that the aluminum concentrate produced by the low-grade bauxite comprehensive utilization project will be supplied directly to SPIC (Zunyi) Industrial Development Co., Ltd., gradually forming a closed-loop industry chain from mining and waste slag comprehensive utilization to deep process.

On March 11, Tianjin Xiangyu Aluminum Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Liaoning Xiangyu Aluminum Co., Ltd., officially signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Beijing Jiu Tian Xing Ge Aerospace Technology Co., Ltd. Feng Yao, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and General Manager of Liaoning Xiangyu Aluminum Co., Ltd. and Chairman of Tianjin Xiangyu Aluminum Co., Ltd., and Wang Zhifeng, Chairman of Beijing Jiu Tian Xing Ge Aerospace Technology Co., Ltd., signed the agreement on behalf of the two parties, respectively. As a leading enterprise in the manufacturing of core components for China’s commercial aerospace sector, Jiu Tian Xing Ge focuses on the R&D and production of key components such as rocket propellant tanks and rocket body structures.

[SMM Aluminum Alloy Flash] Quotations in the secondary aluminum alloy market were mainly stable today. Before noon, fluctuations in futures narrowed, and enterprises’ willingness to adjust prices weakened significantly, with most producers choosing to hold prices steady and wait on the sidelines. In the afternoon, as futures fluctuated downward, some producers began to lower quotations by 100 yuan/mt. Demand side, downstream buyers still mainly made just-in-time procurement, but against the backdrop of a pullback in aluminum prices and the approaching weekend, some enterprises showed slightly stronger procurement willingness, and market transactions improved somewhat from the previous day.

[SMM Aluminum Alloy Flash] SMM statistics showed that cast aluminum alloy social inventory fell 7,000 mt WoW this week, with the pace of destocking accelerating.

[SMM Flash] SHFE data showed that as of March 13, the total registered cast aluminum alloy warrant volume was 54,311 mt, down 1,049 mt from the previous trading day. Among them, the total registered volume in Shanghai was 4,780 mt, down 150 mt from the previous trading day; Guangdong was 19,153 mt, down 89 mt; Jiangsu was 6,567 mt, down 180 mt; Zhejiang was 18,000 mt, down 540 mt; Chongqing was 4,144 mt, with a change of 0 mt; Sichuan was 1,658 mt, down 90 mt.

SMM News, March 13: The SHFE aluminum 04 contract fluctuated at highs after opening today. High aluminum prices suppressed downstream demand, and overall procurement demand remained weak, with market premiums continuing to soften. Market premiums kept declining from the opening. Today’s mainstream market quotations and transaction prices were concentrated between -20 yuan/mt and the average price. Today, the east China market shipment sentiment index was 3.32, flat MoM; the purchasing sentiment index was 2.55, down 0.02 MoM.