Aluminium Prices to Fluctuate Rangebound

SHANGHAI, Feb 9 (SMM) – The most-traded SHFE 2303 aluminium contract opened at 19,075 yuan/mt overnight and moved around 19,000 yuan/mt before closing at 18,915 yuan/mt. LME aluminium opened at $2,535/mt on Wednesday and fell to $2,471/mt before closing at $2,487/mt, down 1.87%.

On the supply side, the operating aluminium capacity fell to 40.1 million mt in early February, and the output is expected to be 3.07 million mt this month. Smelters in Guizhou and Yunnan maintained production cuts. Although the social inventory kept accumulating, downstream consumption and procurement are gradually becoming active. It is expected that aluminium prices will still fluctuate rangebound in the short term. Market players should pay attention to the risk of the Fed's hawkish stance and bigger-than-expected accumulation of domestic and overseas inventories.