Futures Market: Last Friday, the most-traded alumina 2509 futures contract opened at RMB 2,820 per tonne in the night session, with a high of RMB 2,826 per tonne, a low of RMB 2,786 per tonne, and closed at RMB 2,810 per tonne, down RMB 17 per tonne or 0.60 per cent from the previous close. The open interest was 281,000 lots.
Ore: As of May 9, the SMM imported bauxite index was reported at USD 77.47 per tonne, down USD 0.51 per tonne from the previous trading day. The SMM Guinea bauxite CIF average price was reported at USD 75 per tonne, down USD 1 per tonne from the previous trading day. The SMM Australian low-temperature bauxite CIF average price was reported at USD 80 per tonne, unchanged from the previous trading day. The SMM Australian high-temperature bauxite CIF average price was reported at USD 72 per tonne, unchanged from the previous trading day.
Industry News:
Bauxite port inventory: According to SMM statistics on May 9, the total bauxite inventory at nine domestic ports was 19.72 million tonnes, a decrease of 470,000 tonnes from the previous week.
Basis Report: According to SMM data, on May 9, the SMM alumina index had a premium of RMB 73 per tonne against the latest transaction price of the most-traded contract at 11:30.
Warrant Report: On May 9, the total registered alumina warrants decreased by 7,213 tonnes from the previous trading day to 242,600 tonnes. The total registered alumina warrants in the Shandong region remained unchanged at 601 tonnes from the previous trading day. The total registered alumina warrants in the Henan region remained unchanged at 3,001 tonnes from the previous trading day. The total registered alumina warrants in the Guangxi region decreased by 2,101 tonnes from the previous trading day to 20,700 tonnes. The total registered alumina warrants in the Gansu region remained unchanged at 16,800 tonnes from the previous trading day. The total registered alumina warrants in the Xinjiang region decreased by 5,112 tonnes from the previous trading day to 201,500 tonnes.
Overseas Market: As of May 9, 2025, the FOB Western Australia alumina price was USD 348 per tonne, with an ocean freight rate of USD 19.80 per tonne. The USD/RMB exchange rate selling price was around 7.26. This price translates to approximately RMB 3,097 per tonne for the external selling price at major domestic ports, which is RMB 200.46 per tonne higher than the domestic alumina price. The alumina import window remained closed.
Summary: Last week, there were both increases and decreases in the operating capacity of alumina enterprises, with the total operating capacity slightly decreasing by 80,000 tonnes per year. It is expected that some alumina enterprises will conduct maintenance in the subsequent period, while new alumina capacity is expected to continue to be commissioned and released, leading to fluctuations in the operating capacity of alumina in the short term. Recently, downstream feedback indicates that spot cargo availability is tight in some regions. With suppliers standing firm on quotes, spot prices may rebound slightly. However, on the cost side, bauxite prices have fallen significantly compared to the previous period, weakening the cost support.Overall, the alumina market is influenced by a mix of bullish and bearish factors, and prices are expected to fluctuate in the short term.
Note: This article has been issued by SMM and has been published by AL Circle with its original information without any modifications or edits to the core subject/data.
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