China’s A00 aluminium ingot price declines minorly by RMB 80/t; Australian alumina FOB price gains US$5/t

According to the Shanghai Metals Market (SMM) survey, the A00 aluminium ingot price has declined very minorly after two consecutive days of huge downfall to balance a week-on-week downtrend by RMB 150 per tonne from RMB 18,900 per tonne. The price today, 9th August, has dwindled by RMB 80 per tonne, reaching RMB 18,750 per tonne. The average prices are estimated to range between RMB 18,730 per tonne and RMB 18,770 per tonne, with spot contract to be traded at a discount price of RMB 70 to RMB 30 per tonne with an average of RMB 50 per tonne.

Region-wise analysis:

Among the major Chinese provinces, Wuxi, Hangzhou, Chongqing, Tianjin, and Linyi have experienced a decline in aluminium ingot prices by RMB 80 per tonne. The prices have settled at RMB 18,750 per tonne in Wuxi and Chongqing, RMB 18,770 per tonne in Hangzhou, and RMB 18,800 per tonne in Tianjin and Linyi. In contrast, Foshan, Shenyang, and Gongyi have seen a smaller decline. The A00 aluminium ingot price in Foshan settled at RMB 18,690 per tonne (down by RMB 60 per tonne), RMB 18,780 per tonne in Shenyang, and RMB 18,660 per tonne in Gongyi (both down by RMB 70 per tonne).

Additionally, China’s domestic low-carbon aluminium price has decreased by RMB 46 per tonne to clock at RMB 19,641 per tonne. The prices for high-purity aluminium (99.99% and 99.996%) have also dropped by RMB 100 per tonne, now standing at RMB 26,000 per tonne and RMB 27,000 per tonne, respectively. The high-purity aluminium prices are ranging between RMB 25,600 per tonne to RMB 26,400 per tonne for 99.99% purity and RMB 26,600 per tonne to RMB 27,400 per tonne for 99.996% purity.

Primary aluminium input costs:

Among primary aluminium raw materials, the China’s domestic bauxite and alumina prices have continued to remain restrained at US$ 75.21 per tonne and RMB 3,904 per tonne, respectively. The Australian alumina FOB price has increased by US$ 5 per tonne from the previous day to settle at US$ 490 per tonne.

Aluminium alloy ingot prices:

Aluminium alloy (A356) price and aluminium alloy (A360) price have plummeted by RMB 100 per tonne on August 6 to peg at RMB 19,200 per tonne and RMB 19,450 per tonne, with average prices to range between RMB 19,000 per tonne to RMB 19,400 per tonne and RMB 19,350 per tonne to RMB 19,550 per tonne, respectively.

However, the prices of aluminium alloys (ADC12) and aluminium alloy (A380) remained the same at RMB 19,500 per tonne and RMB 20,500 per tonne from the previous day.

Market analysis:

The current decline in SMM A00 aluminium ingot prices is due to a combination of oversupply and weak demand. The overall trend suggests that prices will remain under pressure until there is a significant recovery in demand, likely after the summer off-season.