China Coke Production Rose MoM and YoY in December 2022

According to SMM statistics, as of Thursday this week, the social inventory of secondary aluminum alloy ingots in China's major consumption regions decreased slightly by 400 mt WoW to 62,500 mt, ending seven consecutive weeks of inventory buildup. On one hand, insufficient input tax invoices forced some secondary aluminum smelters to cut production, tightening market supply; on the other hand, traders increased shipments as the spot-futures price spread widened, which, combined with downstream procurement and manufacturers' repurchase activities, accelerated spot circulation. In the short term, supported by invoice source constraints and the spot-futures price spread, social inventory may continue modest destocking, but weak demand will limit the scope for destocking.

[SMM Aluminum Alloy News Flash] Currently, ex-China ADC12 prices fluctuated at highs of $3,360-3,460/mt. Thanks to strengthening domestic prices, the inversion of the price spread between domestic and overseas markets eased somewhat. The current theoretical real-time loss narrowed to around 3,100 yuan/mt, but the loss remained significant, and the theoretical import window remained closed.

[SMM Aluminum Alloy News] ADC12 aluminum alloy prices continued their upward trend today, with most enterprises raising prices by 100-200 yuan/mt. Under the dual effects of cost support and supply constraints, enterprises generally showed a strong willingness to hold prices firm, actively following the upward trend in their quotations. In the short term, if the tight raw material supply situation does not see significant relief, ADC12 prices may continue to rise, and the market overall is expected to hold up well.