[SMM Aluminum Flash News] Rio Tinto and Century Aluminum Raise US Billet Premiums by Around 12%

[SMM Aluminum News Flash] According to SMM statistics, the social inventory of secondary aluminum alloy ingots in China's major consumption areas increased by 1,100 mt WoW Thursday, marking the first inventory buildup since February. The main driver behind this round of inventory rebound was the significant narrowing of the spot-futures price spread, which squeezed arbitrage opportunities for spot-futures traders and hindered shipments. This was compounded by a marginal weakening of demand recently, accelerating the transfer of enterprise inventory to social inventory.

[SMM Aluminum Alloy Daily Review] Futures side, the most-traded aluminum alloy 2606 futures contract opened at 24,095 yuan/mt today, hitting an intraday high of 24,200 yuan/mt and a low of 23,735 yuan/mt, before closing the morning session at 24,000 yuan/mt, down 0.54%. Spot side, driven by a significant rise in primary aluminum prices, cost support strengthened notably, and most enterprises chose to raise prices by 100 yuan/mt. However, demand side, downstream acceptance of high prices was limited, transactions were lackluster, and some enterprises lacked the momentum to raise prices, opting to hold steady and wait.