SHFE aluminium drops on the first day of trading; A00 ingot prices follow suit

On the first day of trading, the benchmark aluminium price at Shanghai Metal Exchange (SME) registered slow momentum and dropped to US$2256 per tonne today from US$2,261 per tonne on Friday, December 29. SMM expect the SHFE main aluminium contract to trade at RMB 15,250-15,500 per tonne. Spot discounts are to move at RMB370-330/t.

Average A00 ingot price stands at RMB 14,640 per tonne today and expected to move within a range of RMB 14620-14,660 today.  Spot discount is set to widen further to RMB 400-360/t. Aluminium ingot price in the South China market is trending the highest at RMB 14,800/t. Today’s drop in A00 ingot price in the major Chinese markets can be seen in the following table:

Average prices of Aluminum Alloys (ADC12) have remained unchanged today. Aluminium Alloy (A356) prices dropped to RMB 15,350 per tonne, however, Aluminium Alloy (A380) prices have remained unchanged. Aluminum Alloy (ZLD102) prices have also dropped to RMB 15,400 per tonne.

Alumina prices are showing some restraint after falling continuously through December. Today’s average spot alumina price remains unchanged at RMB 2855/t. Chalco and imported alumina prices also remain unchanged.

Bauxite (4.5≤Al/Si＜5.5) price at Henan province drops to RMB 335 per tonne. Imported bauxite CIF China is up to USD 47.5 per tonne. Prebaked anode remains unchanged.