China Aluminum Stocks Fall After Continuous Growth, SMM Says

Preliminary data from Eurostat showed that inflationary pressures in the eurozone rebounded somewhat in August, with CPI up 3.3% YoY, a new high since September 2023, while core CPI rose 2.4% YoY, pulling back slightly from 2.5% in July. As a result, the market has fully priced in expectations of a 25-basis-point rate hike by the European Central Bank next week and anticipates further hikes thereafter.

Volkswagen's Management Board has decided to shut down production at four German plants, with the Emden and Zwickau plants planned to cease production in 2031, the Hanover plant in 2032, and the Neckarsulm plant in 2034. Meanwhile, Volkswagen Group expects its global sales for the full year 2026 to fall to approximately 8.5 million units.

China’s automakers released their August sales reports. BYD remained far ahead with over 440,000 units, up nearly 18% YoY. Leap Motor held steady at 100,000 monthly deliveries, continuing to lead the emerging automakers by a wide margin. Xiaomi, XPeng, Li Auto, Zeekr, and NIO all stayed in the 30,000–40,000 delivery range. Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance (HIMA) delivered 42,100 units, edging down YoY.