[Zn Price] SHFE Zinc Prices Closed with Gains (Aug. 5, 2015)

[SMM Weekly Aluminum Inventory] According to SMM statistics, as of May 28, aluminum ingot inventory in China's major consumption areas stood at 1.401 million mt, down 10,000 mt from Monday and down 11,000 mt WoW.

[Hawkish US Fed Expectations Heat Up, Aluminum Prices Under Pressure and in the Doldrums] On the fundamentals, the tight spot cargo situation in the ex-China aluminum market continued. LME aluminum inventory remained at low levels, cancelled warrants continued to grow, reflecting tight available supplies. Meanwhile, Japan's Q3 spot aluminum premiums were further raised, also indicating resilient Asian spot demand. Multiple factors jointly supported LME aluminum's performance. On the China side, driven by improved export margins, aluminum semis exports recovered and are expected to remain at a relatively high level in the near term. However, the pace of China's inventory drawdown was slow, spot transactions were lackluster, and downstream purchasing remained cautious, limiting SHFE aluminum's upside room. Overall, aluminum prices are expected to continue moving sideways with LME outperforming SHFE in the near term.