China market update: Aluminium derivatives pricing trend decoded

Last week’s market has been all about dynamic pricing across the aluminium sector — both for AL as a product and, in turn, for the affected allied industries. The market spots records of resuming downstream production after a prolonged Chinese holiday break. Hence, owing to the growing bullish sentiment in the new-energy auto sector, prices for several key primary commodities (generally termed as primary or raw material) show distinctive trends that market participants should closely monitor.

Aluminium: upward momentum with consolidated ranges

Aluminium prices have registered a fair increase, with the LME average price rising by 0.46 per cent to USD 2,648 per tonne.

In China, the mainstream SHFE price now stands at approximately RMB 20,720 per tonne (USD 2,890 per tonne), marking a 0.56 per cent week-on-week uptick. Notably, spot prices in East and South China have edged up by roughly 0.41 per cent and 0.27 per cent respectively.

A boost in such output underpins this upward trend, thanks to resumed production and new capacity and a rebound in downstream demand as the holiday lull ends.

Looking ahead, market analysts expect the spot price to remain consolidated within a range of RMB 20,200 to 21,000 per tonne (USD 2,817–2,929 per tonne). At the same time, overseas factors such as tariff policies and evolving monetary policy may add further complexity.