With the previously heated issue of shipment backlogs in Xinjiang coming to an end, domestic aluminum ingot inventories began to shift into a buildup trend from mid-December, successively surpassing the key thresholds of 600,000 mt and 650,000 mt. By month-end, the cumulative increase in inventory compared to the level recorded on December 18 approached 15%. Of course, the reasons for this sustained inventory buildup cannot be solely attributed to the recovery in shipments. Considering the core context of resumed shipments from Xinjiang, the current accumulation of domestic aluminum ingots is primarily driven by...

[SMM Aluminum Price Weekly Review: Macro Policies Boost Aluminum Prices to New Highs During the Week, Fundamental Negative Feedback Restrains Post-Holiday Upside Momentum]

The structural tightness in power supply has become a key bottleneck constraining the implementation of its strategy, and has also fostered competition for power resources between the two highly energy-intensive industries of nickel and aluminum. Although the high electricity consumption of aluminum has led to its capacity release falling short of expectations, against the backdrop of scarce power resources, transferring the power resources corresponding to some NPI capacity to the aluminum sector—achieving an orderly shutdown of the former's capacity and a rational deployment of new capacity for the latter—can not only significantly increase the revenue per unit of power resource, aligning with Indonesia's policy direction of upgrading its industries toward higher value-added activities, but also promote the optimization of its metal industry structure.

Based on SMM's proportion of liquid aluminum data, China's aluminum casting ingot volume in December decreased by 13.4% YoY but increased by 7.7% MoM.

This week, after aluminum prices hit 23,000 yuan/mt, they continued to fluctuate at highs and consolidate. Affected by supply-side increases, aluminum billet processing fees were generally under pressure and declined. Specifically, processing fees in Foshan were quoted at 220/270 yuan/mt, down 110 yuan/mt; in Wuxi, 130/220 yuan/mt, down 60 yuan/mt; and in Nanchang, 100/150 yuan/mt, down 50/60 yuan/mt.

[SMM Aluminum Morning Meeting Minutes: New National Subsidy Funds Arrive, Inventory Buildup Reality Compresses Upside Space for Aluminum Prices] Overall, the reality of suppressed fundamental consumption and continued inventory increase will significantly restrain the price's upward momentum. In the short term, aluminum prices are expected to move within a range with obvious resistance above.

[SMM Cast Aluminum Alloy Morning Comment: 2026 Program of Large-Scale Equipment Upgrades and Consumer Goods Trade-Ins Policy Plan Announced, Implementation and Strengthening of "Reverse Invoicing" System] Overnight, the most-traded cast aluminum alloy 2603 contract opened at 21,485 yuan/mt. The price first dipped to around 21,425 yuan/mt, then rebounded to a high of 21,600 yuan/mt, before pulling back to 21,480 yuan/mt by the close. It settled at 21,480 yuan/mt, up 5 yuan/mt from the previous settlement, a gain of just +0.02%.