Soft Demand Leaves Physical Aluminum Trading Modest in East China (Oct. 8, 2014)

SHANGHAI, Oct. 8 (SMM) – The SHFE 1410 aluminum contract hovered narrowly around the RMB 14,000/mt mark during the morning trading session, meeting resistance at the 5-day and 10-day moving averages. Physical aluminum in Shanghai traded Wednesday largely between RMB 13,980-14,000/mt, a RMB 0-20/mt discount to the SHFE front-month aluminum contract.

Aluminum was sold between RMB 14,000-14,030/mt in Wuxi and RMB 14,000-14,010/mt in Hangzhou. SMM estimated that inventories in Shanghai, Wuxi, and Nanhai warehouses increased 44,000 mt after the Chinese National Day holiday. Downstream producers, however, remained reluctant to buy on Wednesday, leaving trading activity modest.