On Tuesday, Mysteel's assessments on spot prices for metallurgical-grade alumina with purity above 98.6 per cent in Shandong, Henan, and Guizhou provinces declined by RMB 10 per tonne (USD 1.4 per tonne) from Monday, averaging RMB 3,190–3,310 per tonne.
Meanwhile, the assessed prices for the same grade in Guangxi autonomous region eased by RMB 5 per tonne to RMB 3,320 per tonne, snapping a 19-day stability, and those in Shanxi province fell by a larger RMB 15 per tonne to sit at RMB 3,210/t.
The broad price decline reflected lower offers and trading prices seen in most alumina-producing hubs since late Monday, according to market watchers.
With uncertainty over the impact of production restrictions ahead of the September 3 military parade in Beijing, some alumina sellers holding relatively high stocks moved to cut offering prices to secure deals and ease inventory pressure, market watchers added.
Buying activity in the spot alumina market turned brisk on August 26. Mysteel heard of one deal concluded in Guizhou, where a local trader sold 3,000 tonnes of spot alumina to a Sichuan-based primary aluminum smelter at RMB 3,220 per tonne EXW including 13 per cent VAT, RMB 163 per tonne lower than a similar deal concluded on August 7 in the same region, Mysteel Global learned.
In the derivatives market, alumina futures also weakened on the same day. The most-traded January 2026 alumina contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) fell 3.49 per cent by the close of Tuesday's daytime session and recorded a further loss of 1.73 per cent in the nighttime session, according to the SHFE data.
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