[SMM midday review] South China Aluminum: market trading sentiment is basically flat compared with yesterday, mainly downstream on demand

[SMM Aluminum Bulletin] China's secondary aluminum alloy ingot inventory in major consumption areas was 25,500 mt today, down 463 mt from the previous day. Foshan and Ningbo continued destocking.

In the China-Europe Advanced Manufacturing Industrial Park in Chengxiang Town, Taicang, Jiangsu, Norway's Hydro Group (Hydro) held a production launch ceremony for its new automotive aluminum parts plant. Hydro Group has consistently focused on the R&D and manufacturing of aluminum extrusions and low-carbon recycling technologies, with its products widely used in the supply chains of high-end automakers such as BMW, Tesla, and Audi. The project has now successfully passed the PPAP review, officially entering the full mass production phase, and in the future, it will stably supply high-end lightweight aluminum structural parts for BMW car models. After reaching full production, the project is expected to generate an annual new output value of 50 million yuan, injecting high-quality foreign-invested capacity into Taicang's automotive parts industry chain.

[Domestic and overseas aluminum prices see a modest simultaneous recovery; China's destocking stabilizes with limited upside room] SMM maintains its assessment that inventory will drop to around 1.28 million mt by late June, and is expected to further approach 1.2 million mt by end-June or early July. The futures market sees short-term stabilization signals, but high domestic inventory pressure remains relatively evident, which is expected to limit the upside room for domestic aluminum prices. In the short term, domestic aluminum prices are expected to mainly fluctuate and consolidate.