SMM Daily Review - 2012/2/24 Aluminum Market

SHANGHAI, Feb. 27 (SMM) – The most active SHFE aluminum contract for delivery in May opened lower and closed down RMB 65/mt or 0.4% at RMB 16,160/mt last Friday, despite strong performance of the Shanghai Composite Index. SHFE aluminum prices slide for two consecutive days and transactions dropped to below 7,000 lots. SMM expects the most active SHFE aluminum contract to test support at RMB 16,100/mt in the near term. SHFE aluminum stocks climbed 15,672 mt to 327,769 mt last week as a result of weak demand.

Spot aluminum traded between RMB 15,870-15,900/mt last Friday, at discounts of RMB 120-150/mt over the SHFE current-month aluminum price. While spot discounts narrowed slightly due to losses in SHFE aluminum prices, spot aluminum still faces heavy pressure at RMB 15,900/mt. Aluminum supply in Wuxi turned tight as a result of decreased inbound shipments, which helped mainstream traded spot aluminum price climb a little bit in the region. Light trading was still a prominent feature, however.