SHANGHAI, Mar. 14 (SMM) – SHFE 1406 aluminum contract followed LME aluminum up to RMB 13,280/mt after starting Wednesday’s night session at RMB 13,235/mt, and ended the session at RMB 13,275/mt. Trading volumes during the night hours totaled 6,342 lots, and positions shrank 620 lots to 102,882 lots. On Wednesday, downbeat Chinese economic data fueled bearish sentiment in SHFE aluminum market. China’s industrial value-added at above-scale enterprises during the first two months of 2014, urban fixed investment and retail sales all undershoot forecasts, pulling the most active contract down to RMB 13,210/mt. SHFE aluminum for June delivery, however, did close RMB 10/mt higher at RMB 13,215/mt. Trading volumes during the daytime hours totaled 8,062 lots, and positions were up 98 lots to 102,980 lots.

Spot aluminum largely traded at RMB 12,660-12,670/mt in Shanghai on Thursday, a discount of RMB 230-250/mt over SHFE 1403 aluminum contract, RMB 12,670-12,690/mt in Wuxi, and RMB 12,680-12,690/mt in Hangzhou. Downstream producers continued to take a wait-and-see approach. In the afternoon, cargo holders held offers unchanged, with few deals completed.