SMM Daily Review - 2012/6/6 Aluminum Market

SHANGHAI, Jun. 7 (SMM) – The most active SHFE aluminum contract for September delivery started at RMB 15,955/mt and closed down RMB 30/mt or 0.19% at RMB 15,915/mt on Wednesday, after struggling at RMB 15,910/mt. Total positions added 828 lots to 101,076 lots while transacted contracts dropped 1,586 lots to 7,990 lots. Cautious trading led to a narrowing moving band and the contract was still at the low end. SMM expects the contract to remain weak amid stabilizing signals from overseas and general weakness.

Spot aluminum was traded at RMB 15,890-15,920/mt in Shanghai, with low-iron aluminum trading at RMB 15,980-16,000/mt. Bearishness in aluminum increased as losses were seen against gains of other base metals. Buying from both middlemen and downstream was still weak even at low-end prices. Most deals were still slightly discounted and aluminum price stagnated near RMB 15,900/mt. Overall deals were limited.