SHANGHAI, Aug. 25 (SMM) – Most active SHFE 1111 aluminum contract prices opened slightly higher at RMB 17,330/mt on August 24th. After a brief test of RMB 17,345/mt the 60-day moving average, market sentiment fell with market transactions falling by half as a result of Japanese rating downgrade by US credit agency Moody’s. The contract finally closed RMB 20/mt or 0.12% higher at RMB 17,275/mt after hitting an intraday low of RMB 17,240/mt. Given current low market sentiment, SMM expects most active SHFE aluminum contract to keep fluctuating around RMB 17,300/mt in the short term.

Trading prices of spot aluminum on August 24th were between RMB 17,780-17,810/mt in Shanghai, with premiums of positive RMB 200-220/mt over SHFE current-month aluminum prices. In the morning, both SHFE aluminum prices and spot aluminum prices stagnated during the day due to sluggish transactions. Spot quotes lowered to RMB 17,750-17,780/mt in the afternoon after SHFE current-month aluminum prices trimmed gains. Market transactions were rare as most downstream buyers and middlemen stayed away.