SHFE Aluminum Opened High but Traded Lower, Overall Trading Activity Was Sluggish [SMM South China Spot Aluminum Daily Review]

SMM April 13 Update:

The SHFE aluminum 04 contract opened high but trended lower today. The South China spot market performed weakly. At the start of the new week, overall buyer purchasing sentiment showed initial signs of fatigue. Downstream buyers adopted a wait-and-see approach, purchasing as needed on dips to replenish stocks. Traders were even more cautious amid sluggish demand, pushing for lower prices and taking fewer orders, with transactions only supported by bottom-level buying, resulting in an overall lackluster performance. On the seller side, expectations of weakness in both absolute prices and the spot-futures price spread led suppliers to continue holding prices firm in the morning. However, as inventory buildup persisted, confidence was also negatively affected. Many suppliers actively lowered prices to liquidate positions first, which in turn pressured the majority into passively following suit. Today, mainstream transaction prices in the market were concentrated at a premium of -180 yuan/mt to -140 yuan/mt against the SHFE aluminum 04 contract.