SHANGHAI, Jan. 13 (SMM) – The most active SHFE four-month aluminum contract gapped higher at RMB 16,240/mt and only gained RMB 15/mt or 0.09% closing at RMB 16,215/mt on Thursday. Though China’s CPI for December dropped as expected, the contracted PPI weighed heavily on market confidence. Positions of the contract increased 390 lots to 54,460 lots. Mixed results were seen for different contracts. Investors are cautiously leaving the aluminum market ahead of the Chinese New Year. The most active SHFE aluminum contract will face mounting pressures at the RMB 16,200/mt mark lacking support.

Traded prices of spot aluminum in Shanghai were between RMB 15,980-16,010/mt on Thursday, with discounts of RMB 30-50/mt over the SHFE current-month aluminum price. In the morning session, she SHFE current-month aluminum price was firm above the RMB 16,000/mt mark. In domestic spot markets, buying interest remained low with the approach of the Chinese New Year. Meanwhile selling interest among goods holders dropped dramatically, with spot discounts over the SHFE current-month aluminum price narrowing to RMB 50/mt. A few imported aluminum ingots available in markets were quoted at RMB 15,940-15,960/mt. Despite the price advantage, transactions were limited. Trading market was quiet ahead of the holiday. In the noon session, the SHFE current-month aluminum price was little changed and the spot market was extremely quiet, with sparse quotations seen at RMB 15,980/mt.