SHANGHAI, Jun. 12 (SMM) – LME aluminum fell to USD 1,731/mt after opening at USD 1,761/mt on Thursday, and finally ended at USD 1,746.5/mt. Trading volumes were up 3,355 lots to 13,419 lots, and positions were up 11,507 to 850,734. China’s fixed asset investment missed forecasts. The country’s industrial value-added and retail sales data were not strong. China’s M2 growth and new lending were slightly above forecasts. Overall economic data suggests that the Chinese economy remains under heavy downward pressure. The US dollar index inched up on positive US retail sales data.
On Thursday night, SHFE 1508 aluminum contract fell to RMB 12,705/mt after opening at RMB 12,825/mt, and ended the night session high at RMB 12,740/mt. Trading volumes totaled 30,874 lots, and positions were down 330 to 132,906.
SHFE 1508 aluminum contract fell overnight as bearishness was gathering steam, and is expected to remain weak at RMB 12,700-12,800/mt on Friday. In China’s spot market, more sellers are willing to sell at lower prices out of pessimism, and spot discounts of RMB 40-80/mt are expected over SHFE 1506 aluminum contract.