SHANGHAI, Oct. 10 (SMM) – The most active aluminum contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE), SHFE 1312 aluminum contract, opened at RMB 14,370/mt on Wednesday. The contract crept higher to RMB 14,400/mt in the morning session, but followed SHFE 1310 aluminum contract down to RMB 14,340/mt during afternoon trading, with the closing price at RMB 14,345/mt. Trading volumes dropped 230 lots to 7,304 lots, and positions also fell 1,614 lots to 69,870 lots.

Cargo holders were eager to sell, but downstream producers were little interested in buying. Traders held to a wait-and-see stance in the belief that prices will fall. This caused backwardation over SHFE 1310 aluminum contract to fall to RMB 20-30/mt. Mainstream traded prices in Shanghai were RMB 14,600-14,610/mt, RMB 14,600-14,640/mt in Wuxi, and RMB 14,600-14,610/mt in Hangzhou. In the afternoon, mainstream traded prices edged down RMB 10/mt, with transactions muted.