SHANGHAI, Oct. 18 (SMM) – December aluminum on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) started Thursday at RMB 14,345/mt. The light metal hovered below the daily moving average before noon, with the low-end price at RMB 14,330/mt. In the afternoon session, SHFE 1312 aluminum contract hit an intraday high of RMB 14,365/mt before closing the day RMB 50/mt higher at RMB 14,360/mt. Trading volumes were up 220 lots to 4,386 lots, while positions were down 2,108 lots to 63,446 lots.

Mainstream traded prices for spot aluminum in Shanghai were RMB 14,430-14,440/mt on Thursday, a premium of RMB 10-20/mt over SHFE 1311 aluminum contracts. Prices were RMB 14,410-14,430/mt in Wuxi, and RMB 14,420-14,440/mt in Hangzhou. Traders preferred to source aluminum ingot from Wuxi where prices were the lowest in east China. Downstream producers, however, were modestly interested in buying. In the afternoon, SHFE 1311 aluminum contracts closed higher at RMB 14,445/mt, turning market players optimistic toward spot aluminum prices. As a result, cargo holders held back goods.