China’s primary aluminium inventories reach nearly 5-year low at 482,000 tonnes

China’s social inventories of primary aluminium have suffered a loss of 18,000 tonnes week-on-week to reach a new low on Thursday, December 15. According to the Shanghai Metals Market data, inventories have come in at 482,000 tonnes, the lowest in nearly five years. The figure is also 34,000 tonnes lower than at the end of November and 429,000 tonnes less than a year ago.

The continuous decline is attributed to output cuts at smelters and lower proportions of ingots. In addition, improved shipments from warehouses to downstream customers have contributed to the inventory fall.

To know the current status of primary aluminium inventories across China in more details, refer to the chart below:

In Nanhai, primary aluminium inventories have shrunk by 9,000 tonnes week-on-week to come in at 113,000 tonnes as of December 15, followed by a decline of 5,000 tonnes in Wuxi to stand at 93,000 tonnes. In Gongyi and Tianjin, inventories have dipped by 2,000 tonnes to hover around 75,000 tonnes and 73,000 tonnes, respectively.

Meanwhile, in Hangzhou, primary aluminium inventories have grown by 2,000 tonnes to stand at 73,000 tonnes, while that in Shanghai and Chongqing have remained restrained at 37,000 tonnes and 2,000 tonnes, respectively.