China's Secondary Aluminum Alloy Ingot Inventory Down 226 MT to 21,600 MT

Aluminum futures fell for consecutive days, leaving the trading atmosphere in the central China market sluggish, with strong bearish sentiment and low stockpiling interest on Friday. Downstream processing enterprises favored futures warrant or long-term contract transactions, leading to a large outflow of warrants from the market, while suppliers showed little willingness to hold prices firm, driving transaction prices steadily lower. Ultimately, the actual transaction price range in central China centered around a discount of 10-40 yuan/mt against the SHFE aluminum July contract.

[Macro Headwinds Dominate Futures; SHFE and LME Aluminum Both Remain in the Doldrums] The US Fed’s hawkish pivot boosted the US dollar index, weighing on nonferrous metal prices. The Middle East geopolitical situation showed some volatility but no signs of deterioration. Under macro headwinds, aluminum prices in and outside China fell. In the short term, bearish factors dominate, and aluminum prices are expected to remain in the doldrums. Continued attention should be paid to production resumptions in the Middle East, overseas aluminum ingot inventory trends, and macro news fluctuations.