SHANGHAI, Jul. 8 (SMM) – Last Friday night, SHFE 1409 aluminum contract drifted lower after starting at RMB 13,665/mt, and finished the night session at RMB 13,605/mt. Trading volumes totaled 20,142 lots, with positions down 40 lots to 159,510 lots. On Monday, the most active contract retreated from the 20-day moving average to RMB 13,555/mt before ending down RMB 130/mt at RMB 13,560/mt. Trading volumes totaled 33,982 lots, with positions down 4,254 lots to 155,256 lots. With investors closing long positions, prices may test support at the 30-day moving average in the near term.    

Spot aluminum largely traded between RMB 13,400-13,410/mt in Shanghai and Wuxi on Monday, a discount of RMB 40-50/mt over SHFE 1407 aluminum contract, versus RMB 13,410-13,420/mt in Hangzhou. Growing supply and bearish sentiment among downstream producers sent prices down. In the afternoon, sellers cut offers slightly to RMB 13,390-13,400/mt, with sparse transactions reported.