SHFE aluminum futures stabilize, spot aluminum warehouse withdrawals are good, spot discounts continue to narrow [SMM Aluminum Spot Afternoon Review]

SMM August 21 News:

SHFE aluminum futures stabilized, with no significant change from the same period yesterday. Today, warehouse withdrawals in Wuxi performed well, and suppliers held a generally bullish sentiment. The mainstream transaction premiums for A00 aluminum ingot in the market ranged from a discount of 10 yuan/mt to a premium of 10 yuan/mt. Today, the shipment sentiment index in east China stood at 3.21, up 0.01 MoM; the procurement sentiment index stood at 3.23, up 0.07 MoM.

Although aluminum futures stabilized, market transactions cooled. Weekend stockpiling cycle did not improve buying sentiment, and downstream processing enterprises in central China still preferred small just-in-time procurement with low willingness to stockpile. Moreover, major traders held prices firm, keeping quotes at relatively high levels. Ultimately, actual transaction prices in central China centered around a discount of 40-70 yuan/mt against the SHFE aluminum September contract. Today, the shipment sentiment index in central China stood at 3.12, up 0.02 MoM; the procurement sentiment index stood at 2.90, unchanged MoM.

In terms of inventory, aluminum ingot inventory in major consumption areas declined by 12,000 mt today, with only Gongyi seeing inventory buildup.