Alumina Transaction: 30,000 mt at $335.5/mt FOB Jamaica, Shipment in May

Following the US Supreme Court’s Feb 20 decision striking down President Trump’s authority to impose global tariffs under the IEEPA, Malaysia became the first nation to abandon a pact tied to the strategy. On March 15, MITI Minister Johari Ghani declared the US-Malaysia Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) "null and void."As of March 18, Malaysia still awaits official written notice of the cancellation. Johari stated future talks rely on revised US proposals.The US is now imposing a temporary five-month global tariff of 10% under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. Concurrently, Washington is investigating 60 countries under Section 301 for trade violations, which Johari noted the Court requires to legally justify any future targeted tariffs.

[SMM Flash] Inventory of secondary aluminum alloy ingots in China's major consumption hubs increased slightly by 40 mt from the previous day today.

[Geopolitical Tensions Combined With Deferred Interest Rate Cut Expectations Leave SHFE Aluminum Under Short-Term Pressure but Fluctuating at Highs] Against the backdrop of continued tightening LME liquidity, LME aluminum still has upward momentum, with strong support from prices outside China, and is expected to maintain a backwardation structure in the short term. China remains in a phase of high inventory coupled with weak fundamentals, and its upward momentum is significantly weaker than that outside China. Amid divergent domestic and external drivers, the SHFE/LME price ratio is expected to continue weakening, and aluminum prices are still expected to fluctuate at highs in the short term.