
The dichotomy of alumina and aluminium remains on the same page as alumina is falling on the price curve while primary aluminium is recovering from the recent fall that started in November. Spot alumina price in China has dropped from the year’s high of RMB 3730/t in November first week to RMB 2881/t today. Domestic alumina prices have also slipped to RMB 2850/t today.

Aluminium price rise has been slow due to falling prices of alumina. The contract rose overnight yesterday December 20 on news of potentially lower alumina output due to natural gas shortage. SMM however observes that alumina production would not be impacted much as most producers use coal gas as fuel. Another factor that is keeping alumina prices low is its high inventory driven by slow demand from smelters.
Spot alumina prices in all other domestic markets see a slight drop today. Chalco alumina prices and imported alumina prices remain unchanged at RMB 3320 and RMB 3450 per tonne.

SMM sees no strong driver to lift up aluminium price in the medium term. The SHFE contract according to SMM would be rangebound at RMB 14,600-14,800 per tonne. The spot discount remains at RMB 270-230 per tonne. Average price of A00 ingot stands at RMB 14,280/t, a drop of RMB 30 per tonne from yesterday.
As for other raw material prices are concerned, bauxite prices and prebaked anode prices remain unchanged in all markets in China.
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