Aluminum ingot inventory continued to decline

In April, downstream operating rates continued to rebound since it is already halfway through traditional peak season, boosting the performance of domestic aluminum social inventories. The inventories continued to decline in the week. On Apr 3, SMM data showed that the social inventory of aluminum ingots in China’s eight major markets was 847,000 mt, (the amount for sale stood at 721,000 mt), down 18,000 mt WoW. The total inventory decline reached 24,000 mt. The inventory performance in Gongyi was the best among the three places, mainly as outflow from warehouses picked up and arrivals declined. Inventory fell by 19,000 mt WoW. After the import window closed in Shanghai, the local inventories also fell by 7,000 mt. The strong destocking performance in Gongyi and Shanghai are the two key factors for the destocking. However, SMM believes that under the recent high aluminum prices, domestic aluminum enterprises still have a certain amount of inventory on hand. Concentrated arrivals on weekends occasionally occurred. Taking Wuxi as an example, the current inventory reached 291,000 mt, an increase of 14,000 mt. SMM predicts that after aluminum ingot inventory began to drop, domestic aluminum ingot inventory performance may swing in early April, but the overall inventory may still drop slightly.