
On the face of refined aluminium inventory plunge and a rise of aluminium production after winter heating season, Shanghai Metal Market learns that the price of bauxite though remains unchanged since March 19, 2018 exhibits a steady rise.
The price rise of bauxite indicates that the bauxite market was not oversupplied in spite of the shutdown of bauxite mines during winter heating season and thus, offers no room for negotiation at the present, unlike pre-baked anode, which was oversupplied due to the aluminium manufacturing halt.
{alcircleadd}At the beginning of the year, the average bauxite price started diminishing from RMB 380 per tonne in the last year to RMB 370 and RMB 340 per tonne in January and February respectively. Then in March 2018, the price started reviving by attaining RMB 360 per tonne and RMB 400 per tonne in the latter half of the same month. Since then, it remains unchanged, as per the update by SMM.

However, although we see no significant movement in average bauxite price from March 26, 2018 until now, the overall price in the first quarter of the calendar year 2018 flaunts a fair improvement.
Even in the major markets of China, the bauxite prices remain unchanged since the latter half of March with Bauxite (6.0≤Al/Si<7.0) at Shanxi hovering at RMB 400 per tonne and Bauxite (6.0≤Al/Si<7.0) at Henan and Bauxite (6.5≤Al/Si<7.5) at Guangxi floating at RMB 415 per tonne and RMB 290 per tonne respectively.
Another custom data from SMM also shows that China’s bauxite import has also witnessed a rise to 6.1 million tonnes in February, up by 43.7 per cent Year-on-Year.
Although the volume registered a decline by 13.4 per cent from January due to Chinese New Year Holiday, imports from Brazil recorded a month-on-month increase.
Besides Brazil, Australia has also exported around 2 million tonnes of Bauxite to China over the past couple of months. This makes the Shanghai Metal Market more hopeful for a further rise in imports from Australia in the on-going month, more because Metro Mining commissions its Bauxite Hills mine in April.
Meanwhile, Malaysia has started shipping bauxite to China since November.
The average import price for February stood at US$ 54 million per tonne, level with that in January.
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