A00 aluminium ingot price continues to fall by RMB150/t due to elevated inventories; Pre-baked anode price dips by RMB10/t

Analysis and closer view of Chinese provinces

The back-to-back decline could be attributed to an increase in inventories due to rising supplies of metals and weak cargo pick-up. At the end of May, SMM showed that China’s social inventories of primary aluminium ingots stood at 781,000 tonnes, recording a week-on-week rise of 14,000 tonnes and a remarkable surge of 160,000 tonnes over a year. Only 102,300 tonnes of aluminium ingots were retrieved from warehouses in China, marking a decline of 12,500 tonnes W-o-W.

According to SMM, the average prices on June 3 will range between RMB 21,070 per tonne and RMB 21,110 per tonne, with spot contract to be traded at a discount price of RMB 140-100 per tonne.

Among the major Chinese consumption areas, Tianjin has seen the highest decline of RMB 163 per tonne in aluminium ingot price to RMB 21,946 per tonne. Other provinces like Wuxi, Hangzhou, and Linyi A00 aluminium ingot price has unanimously shrunk by RMB 150 per tonne to reach RMB 21,090 per tonne. In Foshan and Chongqing, the price has also fallen by RMB 150 per tonne to come in at RMB 20,970 per tonne and RMB 21,030 per tonne, respectively.

China’s domestic low-carbon aluminium price has registered a fall of RMB 163 per tonne to start the week at RMB 21,946 per tonne as of June 3, 2024.