[SMM Flash] East China A00 Market on March 23

[SMM Aluminum Express News] Iran has effectively turned the Strait of Hormuz into a controlled corridor, with at least 20 tankers rerouted near Qeshm and Larak via a regime-approved path. Some ships reportedly pay up to $2M for passage. Tehran allows non-aggressor vessels through while restricting others; China, India, Turkey, Pakistan, and Thailand have coordinated for safe transit.

[Geopolitical Risks Compound Interest Rate Cut Expectations, Intensifying the Tug-of-War Between Longs and Shorts in the Aluminum Market] Continued destocking of LME inventory has provided bottom support for LME aluminum, but tightening funding liquidity and profit-taking by bulls have limited upward momentum, and the backwardation structure has somewhat weakened. China’s social inventory has risen to a high for the same period in nearly five years, and the inventory buildup cycle has yet to end. High inventory and weak spot fundamentals are jointly suppressing upward momentum. Divergence between domestic and overseas drivers continues, the SHFE/LME price ratio keeps weakening, and the market is expected to remain under pressure in the short term.

[SMM Cast Aluminum Alloy Morning Comment: Aluminum Prices Halted Their Decline, but Wait-and-See Sentiment Remained Unchanged; Rangebound Movement May Continue in the Short Term] Spot market, yesterday the overall ADC12 market continued to hold prices steady. Aluminum prices showed signs of halting their decline, but market sentiment recovered only limitedly, and enterprises generally chose to postpone price adjustments and mainly adopt a wait-and-see stance. Demand side, downstream orders did not improve significantly, and just-in-time procurement remained the main approach, with mediocre transaction performance. Against the backdrop of easing cost-side fluctuations and insufficient demand support, ADC12 prices may continue to fluctuate within a range and remain relatively stable in the short term, with relatively limited momentum for price adjustments. Further attention should still be paid to aluminum price trends and the recovery of end-use demand.