SHANGHAI, Jul. 26 (SMM) – SHFE 1310 aluminum contract opened flat at RMB 14,375/mt on Thursday. The most active contract only inched up in the afternoon session, and closed RMB 25/mt or 0.17% higher at RMB 14,400/mt. Positions increased by 220 lots to 64,920 lots, and trading volumes were up 2,234 lots to 4,804 lots. Judging from technical indicator, SHFE three-month aluminum contract will continue to meet resistance at RMB 14,400/mt.

Mainstream traded prices for spot aluminum in Shanghai were RMB 14,340-14,360/mt on Thursday, RMB 10-30/mt lower than SHFE 1308 aluminum contract prices. Low-iron aluminum was traded around RMB 14,520/mt. SHFE 1308 aluminum contract was stagnant. Cargo holders were anxious to sell as the end-of-month liquidity crunch bit in, but demand was lackluster, pulling spot aluminum prices in Shanghai and Wuxi down to RMB 14,340/mt. Prices in Hangzhou were more resilient due to tight supply. In the afternoon, the most active SHFE aluminum contract edged up, allowing traders to hike offers from RMB 14,360/mt to RMB 14,380/mt, but transactions were muted.