Chinese alumina prices moved lower in both the spot and futures markets on September 9, while spot alumina trading remained sparse amid ample supplies. The national average spot price of metallurgical-grade alumina with purity exceeding 98.6 per cent assessed by Mysteel fell by RMB 18 per tonne (USD 2.5 per tonne) from Monday to RMB 3,132 per tonne on Tuesday, marking the sixth consecutive daily decline.
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By region, the assessed prices in Shandong, Shanxi, and Henan provinces each slid by RMB 25 per tonne from the prior day to average between RMB 3,030 per tonne and RMB 3,095 per tonne. In the south, prices in Guizhou province and the Guangxi autonomous region dropped by RMB 10 per tonne and RMB 5 per tonne to sit at RMB 3,245 per tonne and RMB 3,240 per tonne respectively.
The persistent decline across China pointed to intensifying pricing pressure on the supply side in the country's five key alumina production bases, where surplus alumina availability left producers and traders little choice but to cut offering prices, market watchers said.
On the demand side, many primary aluminum smelters with sufficient raw material stocks showed a momentum-driven mindset, favoring purchases in a rising market while staying on the sidelines when prices are falling, market watchers added.
This kept trading sparse in the domestic spot alumina market. Mysteel heard of only one deal concluded on September 9, in which an alumina trader sold 3,000 tonnes of spot goods sourced from Guizhou to a primary alumina smelter based in Sichuan province at RMB 3,180 per tonne EXW. The settlement price was RMB 40 per tonne lower than a similar deal done on August 26, Mysteel Global noted.
Meanwhile, domestic alumina futures also weakened further yesterday. The most-traded January 2026 alumina contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed Tuesday's nighttime trading session 1.29 per cent lower at RMB 2,906 per tonne, following the 1.21 per cent decrease recorded by the end of the daytime session, according to the exchange's data.
Note: This article is published under the content exchange agreement with Mysteel.
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