Auto Consumption Index Rises to 72.9 in Feb, March Sales Expected to Surge Post-CNY

[SMM Aluminum Flash] Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that in February 2026, the nationwide consumer price index rose 1.3% YoY. Of this, urban areas rose 1.4% and rural areas rose 0.9%; food prices rose 1.7% and non-food prices rose 1.3%; consumer goods prices rose 1.1% and service prices rose 1.6%. On average in January–February, the nationwide consumer price index rose 0.8% from the same period a year earlier. In February, the nationwide consumer price index rose 1.0% MoM. Of this, urban areas rose 1.0% and rural areas rose 0.7%; food prices rose 1.9% and non-food prices rose 0.8%; consumer goods prices rose 0.8% and service prices rose 1.1%.

[SMM Aluminum Flash] Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that in February 2026, nationwide industrial producer ex-factory prices fell 0.9% YoY, with the decline narrowing by 0.5 percentage points from the previous month; they rose 0.4% MoM, with the increase unchanged from the previous month. Industrial producer purchase prices fell 0.7% YoY, with the decline narrowing by 0.7 percentage points from the previous month; they rose 0.7% MoM, with the increase widening by 0.2 percentage points from the previous month. On average in January–February, industrial producer ex-factory prices fell 1.2% from the same period a year earlier, and industrial producer purchase prices fell 1.1%.

[SMM Flash] Today, inventories of secondary aluminum alloy ingots in China’s major consumption hubs fell by 687 mt WoW from last Friday, maintaining a destocking pace after the holiday.