Aluminium ingot inventories in China fall below 500,000 mt due to scant arrivals

SHANGHAI, Aug 18 (SMM) – As of August 17, 2023, SMM recorded China's aluminium ingot stockpile at 490,000 mt, marking a week-on-week drop of 21,000 mt, and a substantial YoY decline of 190,000 mt. The inventory remains at a five-year low compared to the same period of previous years. The stockpile of aluminium ingots in China has been wavering downwards, dropping below the key 500,000-mt mark. It's now just a hair's breadth away from the absolute five-year low of 475,000 mt seen at the end of last year. Despite expectations of a slight increase in aluminium ingot inventory in the later stage, the shortage of cast ingots may prevent a substantial supply from appearing in the market in the short term. Thus, social inventory is likely to fluctuate in the short term. During the week, the aluminium ingot inventory in most major consumption areas generally decreased, with the most noticeable decrease in Wuxi. There were minor reductions in Foshan and Gongyi, while a slight accumulation was observed in Chongqing. Per SMM research, on August 17, Foshan, Wuxi, and Gongyi saw some newly arrived cargoes. The inventory decrease mainly stemmed from fewer arrivals earlier in the week. Chongqing, the first recipient of resumed supplies from Southwest China, saw continuous inventory growth in the week ending August 17, hinting at these supplies entering domestic markets, notably South China. SMM will monitor future supply routes and aluminium supply-demand shifts.