Futures: During the night session on January 5, the most-traded SHFE aluminium 2602 contract opened at RMB 23,560 per tonne, reached a high of RMB 24,280 per tonne, touched a low of RMB 23,500 per tonne, and finally closed at RMB 24,165 per tonne, up RMB 520 per tonne or 2.20 per cent from the previous close. From a technical perspective, the MA moving averages showed a bullish alignment (MA5: 23,183.00 > MA10: 22,803.50 > MA20: 22,497.75 > MA40: 22,263.38), and the MACD 4-hour candlestick level continued to show a red bar (DIFF: 359.33, DEA: 195.19). In terms of open interest, the night session open interest was approximately 265,000 lots, an increase of 3,613 lots from the daytime session. LME aluminium opened at USD 3,024per tonne, reached a high of USD 3,093per tonne, touched a low of USD 3,023.5per tonne, and finally closed at USD 3,090per tonne, up 2.28 per cent from the previous day. Trading volume was 38,800 lots, an increase of 17,710 lots, while open interest was 682,000 lots, a decrease of 2,431 lots.
Macro front: On the afternoon of January 5, President Xi Jinping held talks with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, who was on a state visit to China, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Xi emphasised that the Chinese and South Korean economies are closely linked, with deeply embedded industrial and supply chains, and that cooperation is mutually beneficial. He called for enhanced strategic alignment and policy coordination to expand the pie of common interests and achieve more cooperative outcomes in emerging fields such as artificial intelligence, the green industry, and the silver economy. (Bullish ★) US manufacturing activity contracted more than expected in December, remaining in contraction for the 10th consecutive month. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said on Monday that new orders declined again and input costs continued to rise as the manufacturing sector continued to be affected by Trump's import tariffs. (Bearish ★) The US dollar index earlier hit its highest level since December 10, but then pulled back, ending the session down 0.3 per cent at 98.262. The dollar index fell 1.2 per cent in December, its weakest monthly performance since August. According to calculations, traders currently expect two interest rate cuts in the US this year. (Bullish ★)
