The LME aluminum futures hiked by 1.25% from the previous day, reaching US$2,259.5/ton on Monday (May 15). The increase was mainly due to a drop in the aluminum inventory.

China’s Yunnan, the major aluminum supplier, is going to enter the rainy season in the near future, so the capacity was expected to decrease. China’s primary aluminum social inventory destocked 50,000 tons to 684,000 tons, and the operating rate of China’s leading aluminum downstream processing enterprises increased to 64.7%.

Besides, SMM’s primary aluminum social inventory also dropped to 740,000 tons, a new high in the same period in the past five years. The LME aluminum inventory also slid to a three-month low reaching 373,025 tons. Also, a weaker US dollar made dollar-denominated metal prices more attractive, leading to a hike in aluminum prices.