SHANGHAI, Jan. 16 (SMM) – The most active SHFE aluminum contract for delivery in April closed RMB 5/mt or 0.03% higher at RMB 16,210/mt last Friday. The contract initially dropped to RMB 16,135/mt and rebounded with support at the 5-day moving average. Positions of the contract rose 128 lots to 54,588 lots. The metal lagged behind gains of other metals due to light trading. The most active aluminum contract is expected to hover near RMB 16,200/mt in the near term as longs and shorts get a draw. SHFE aluminum stocks climbed further by 5,303 mt to 226,927 mt on the last trading day before the delivery date.

Traded prices of spot aluminum in Shanghai were between RMB 15,960-16,000/mt last Friday, with discounts of RMB 0-40/mt over the SHFE current-month aluminum price. In the morning, the SHFE current-month aluminum price lacked rising momentum with resistance at RMB 16,000/mt. Traders in East China were busy with finishing work ahead of the Chinese New Year holiday and were not actively selling goods. Despite low downstream buying interest, aluminum prices showed some stability backed by reduced supply. Limited deals were done in the market. Deals were hardly seen in the afternoon either.