SMM Aluminum Market Daily Review (2013-4-3)

SHANGHAI, Apr. 7 (SMM) – SHFE 1306 aluminum contract started the day at RMB 14,590/mt on April 3. The most active aluminum contract slipped to RMB 14,535/mt in early morning session, but later recovered some losses thanks to short-covering. SHFE aluminum for June delivery was mired in the afternoon, and finally settled down RMB 5/mt or 0.03% at RMB 14,565/mt. Positions shrank 634 lots to 90,392 lots. SHFE aluminum market was quiet on the last trading day before the three-day public holiday and the most-traded SHFE aluminum contract is expected to continue to test support at RMB 14,500/mt after the holiday.

Spot aluminum was mainly traded at RMB 14,410-14,430/mt in Shanghai on Wednesday, a discount of RMB 50-70/mt over SHFE 1304 aluminum contract prices. Low-iron aluminum was trade at RMB 14,580-14,600/mt. SHFE 1304 aluminum contract prices were mired, preventing spot aluminum from rising. However, moderate restocking before the Chinese Qingming holiday did help the low-end price stabilize. Most traders stood on the sidelines, but some remained eager to sell. Overall trading was light. In the afternoon, wait-and-see sentiment dominated the spot market, with sparse offers reported at RMB 14,420/mt.