SMM News, March 31:
In early trading, SHFE aluminum 2604 rose, with its center moving higher than the previous day. Affected by the rise in aluminum prices, shipment sentiment increased sharply today, with relatively ample spot circulation in the market, driving a wider spread in transaction premiums. Market transactions were mainly concentrated at discounts of 10 yuan/mt to the SMMA00 aluminum average price. Today, the shipment sentiment index in the east China market was 3.31, up 0.13 MoM; the purchasing sentiment index was 3.11, unchanged MoM.
As aluminum futures prices continued to rise today, traders' bullish sentiment in the central China market recovered slightly from yesterday. Suppliers were fearful that excessively high inventory would cause prices to pull back, and bearish sentiment in the market surged. Quoted premiums fell all the way, but differentiation between large and small traders was significant, with major traders showing stronger willingness to hold prices firm. In the end, actual transaction prices in the central China market were around discounts of 10 yuan to 40 yuan to the central China price. Today, the shipment sentiment index in the central China market was 2.74, up 0.02 MoM; the purchasing sentiment index was 2.32, down 0.07 MoM.
Inventory side, aluminum ingot inventory in major consumption regions increased by 4,500 mt MoM today, with the main sources of the inventory buildup being Wuxi and Guangdong. In the short term, after the Chinese New Year, aluminum ingot inventory continued its seasonal inventory buildup. Affected by bullish market sentiment, premiums were expected to maintain a narrowing trend.
