China’s A00 aluminium ingot price starts regaining but shows no sign of jump due to weak demand

According to the Shanghai Metals Market survey, China’s domestic A00 aluminium ingot price has mirrored the same growth as the previous day. It has increased by RMB 50 per tonne to reach RMB 20,450 per tonne, marking the second consecutive day of rise. The average prices are expected to range between RMB 20,430-20,470 per tonne, with a spot contract to be traded at a discount of RMB 70-30 per tonne.

Even after the second day of rise, the price of A00 aluminium ingot has continued to demonstrate a downtrend compared with RMB 20,660 per tonne on June 13 and RMB 20,860 per tonne on May 20. Thus, on a week-on-week basis, the domestic price has recorded a fall of 1.02 per cent, and on a month-on-month basis, the price has registered a decline of 1.97 per cent.

Among the Chinese provinces, Tianjin has encountered the highest price growth of RMB 80 per tonne to RMB 20,530 per tonne, with average prices ranging between RMB 20,520-20,540 per tonne. In Foshan, A00 aluminium ingot price has climbed up by RMB 60 per tonne to RMB 20,270 per tonne, followed by a rise of RMB 50 per tonne in Wuxi, Hangzhou, Chongqing, and Shenyang to RMB 20,430 per tonne, RMB 20,450 per tonne, RMB 20,360 per tonne, and RMB 20,400 per tonne, respectively.

On the same day, China’s domestic low-carbon aluminium price has also seen a growth of RMB 50 per tonne to stand at RMB 21,195 per tonne. High-purity aluminium (99.99%) price has surged by RMB 100 per tonne, amounting to RMB 27,800 per tonne, with average prices to hover around RMB 27,400-28,200 per tonne.

Raw material prices

China’s domestic bauxite price has remained static at RMB 630 per tonne since May 6, following an increase of RMB 5 per tonne on April 30. Relatively, the imported bauxite price saw a growth recently on June 14 from US$72.01 per tonne to US$72.17 per tonne, but subsequently remained restrained until June 20.

The domestic average alumina spot price fell yesterday, June 19, by RMB 2 per tonne to RMB 3,903 per tonne, and subsequently remained muted on June 20 across almost all the provinces, except for Lianyungang and Bayuquan, where the prices have elevated by RMB 35 per tonne to RMB 3,990 per tonne and RMB 4,000 per tonne, respectively.

Aluminium alloy prices

 Among aluminium alloy prices, the price of alloy (A360) and alloy (A356) have increased by RMB 50 per tonne to RMB 21,250 per tonne and RMB 20,950 per tonne, as of June 20. The average prices are estimated to range between RMB 21,150-21,350 per tonne and RMB 20,800-21,100 per tonne, respectively.

Market analysis

The A00 aluminium ingot price has started recovering the losses bit by bit. About two weeks ago, China’s domestic ingot price started declining by RMB 20 per tonne and continued until June 18, reaching RMB 20,350 per tonne. However, the price is not expected to record a big jump in the near future, considering the demand tends among downstream sectors due to a traditional off-season in the manufacturing sectors. Moreover, the output was significant in May, amounting to 3.65 million tonnes.