Primary aluminium inventories mark first decline in China since the Lunar New Year Holiday this year

Social inventories of primary aluminium ingots have fallen this week, as demand improved and aluminium smelters held back on sales and reduced deliveries to social warehouses owing to weaker aluminium prices, learned Shanghai Metals Market.

The SMM data shows the primary aluminium inventories decreased 69,000 tonnes over the week ended Thursday, April 9, across eight major consumption areas in China, including SHFE warrants. This marks the first week-on-week decline since the Lunar New Year Holiday, bringing the inventories at 1.607 million tonnes. On last Thursday, April 2, the primary aluminium inventories were at 1.676 million tonnes, up 9,000 tonnes compared to a build of 20,000 tonnes in the previous week.

The chart below indicates the current status of primary aluminium inventories across China in more details:

Among all the major Chinese cities, Nanhai has seen the highest decline today in primary aluminium inventories of about 42,000 tonnes, followed by Gongyi 26,000 tonnes, Wuxi 4,000 tonnes, and Tianjin 1,000 tonnes. The stocks in these three cities are, therefore, standing at 389,000 tonnes, 165,000 tonnes, 657,000 tonnes, and 15,000 tonnes, respectively. In Shanghai and Chongqing, on the other hand, the inventories have grown by 3,000 tonnes and 1,000 tonnes to come in at 172,000 tonnes and 15,000 tonnes, while that in Linyi has remained restrained at 11,000 tonnes.

On the decline in inventories, the A00 aluminium ingot price has recorded a rise today of RMB 50 per tonne to RMB 11,610 per tonne, according to SMM. The average prices are expected to range between RMB 11,590 per tonne and RMB 11,630 per tonne.