Bauxite Port Arrivals at Domestic Ports and Departures from Major Supply Areas Both Increase, Ore Prices May Face Downward Pressure in the Short Term [SMM Bauxite Weekly Review]

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SMM reported on March 20:

Regarding domestic bauxite:

The domestic bauxite market mainly operated steadily this week.

As of today, in Shanxi, the self-pick-up price for bauxite with an alumina content of 60% and an aluminum-silicon ratio of 5.0, excluding VAT, was around 630-670 yuan/mt; in Henan, the self-pick-up price for bauxite with an alumina content of 60% and an aluminum-silicon ratio of 5.0, excluding VAT, was about 560-600 yuan/mt; in Guizhou, the self-pick-up price for bauxite with an alumina content of 58% and an aluminum-silicon ratio of 5.5, excluding VAT, was 480-520 yuan/mt; in Guangxi, the self-pick-up price for bauxite with an alumina content of 53% and an aluminum-silicon ratio of 6.0, excluding VAT, was 320-335 yuan/mt.

Regarding imported bauxite:

According to data from March 14, the total weekly arrivals of bauxite at domestic ports were 4.145 million mt, an increase of 256,000 mt from the previous week; the total weekly departures of bauxite from major ports in Guinea were 4.593 million mt, an increase of 1.375 million mt from the previous week; the total weekly departures of bauxite from major ports in Australia were 1.127 million mt, an increase of 291,000 mt from the previous week.

In terms of prices, the tug-of-war between sellers and buyers of bauxite continued, and the SMM imported bauxite CIF index price remained at $93.39/mt this week.

Overall, spot alumina prices fell further. According to the SMM daily cost-profit model, the theoretical profit of the alumina industry entered negative territory starting from Wednesday, and by Thursday, the theoretical loss was 40 yuan/mt. Under the pressure of losses, alumina refineries' intention to bargain down purchasing prices for bauxite grew stronger, and recently, a small amount of capacity began to cut production, leading to a decrease in bauxite demand. On the supply side, both port departures from major bauxite supply areas and arrivals at domestic ports increased this week. The supply-demand pattern of bauxite may become more relaxed, and in the short term, imported bauxite prices are likely to face pressure.

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