Aluminum Prices Stay High, Downstream Price Acceptance Remains Weak [SMM Spot Aluminum Midday Review]

Published: Apr 17, 2026 18:15

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SMM, April 17:

SHFE aluminum 2605 fluctuated downward in the morning session, but overall aluminum prices remained at high levels. Influenced by downstream stockpiling on Friday, overall market purchasing sentiment rose. However, due to high aluminum prices, downstream price acceptance remained low. Mainstream transactions were concentrated around SMM A00 aluminum at -10 yuan/mt to the average price. The east China market shipments sentiment index was 3.71 today, flat MoM; the purchasing sentiment index was 3.05, up 0.09 MoM.

Aluminum prices continued to fluctuate at high levels today. The trading atmosphere in the central China market remained relatively subdued, but with the weekend approaching and stockpiling demand, trading volume increased compared to the previous two days. Major traders and retail traders had significant price divergences today, with market prices scattered. Leading major traders quoted between parity with the central China price and a discount of 10 yuan to the central China price, while retail traders quoted at discounts of 30-50 yuan to the central China price. The final concentrated quotation was at a discount of 20 yuan to the central China price. The central China market shipments sentiment index was 2.85 today, flat MoM; the purchasing sentiment index was 2.32, up 0.02 MoM.

Inventory side, aluminum ingot inventory in major consumption areas decreased by 1,000 mt MoM today, with destocking mainly driven by Guangdong and Gongyi.

Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM‘s internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

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