Aluminium billet inventories rose 1,100 mt on week

SHANGHAI, Jun 3 (SMM) – The outbound quantity of aluminium billet decreased 3,200 mt or 6.1% to 48,900 mt last week. Aluminium prices fluctuated last week, and the downstream was dominated by wait-and-see sentiment, suppressing the shipment.

SMM data showed that aluminium billet stocks across the five major consumption areas — Foshan, Wuxi, Huzhou, Changzhou and Nanchang — in China increased 1.2% or 1,100 mt from a week ago to 89,400 mt as of Thursday June 3. Stocks in Foshan, Wuxi and Changzhou fell, while stocks in Huzhou and Nanchang rose. The main reason was that aluminium prices performed weakly this week, and the downstream was less willing to receive goods. At the same time, the demand for purchasing raw materials declined due to the pandemic and power curtailment in South China.

On fundamentals, the recent upgrade of Guangdong pandemic prevention and control measures enlarged the impact on local logistics and downstream, and had some impact on local consumption in the near term. SMM believes that consumption is still in the peak season on the fundamentals, and it is too early for the traditional off-season to come in July. It is expected that aluminium billet inventories will remain stable next week.