Chalco’s large purchase bolsters spot aluminum trades in east China

SHANGHAI, Feb 27 (SMM) – Spot aluminium trades in east China were brisk in the morning of Wednesday February 27 as the Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) made purchases in the amount of close to 10,000 mt.

Spot deals mostly occurred at 13,620-13,640 yuan/mt in Shanghai, Wuxi and Hangzhou, SMM research found. Traded prices inched up about 30 yuan/mt from the previous morning.

Spot discounts in Shanghai stood at 60-40 yuan/mt against the front-month March aluminium contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, narrower than 80-60 yuan/mt on Tuesday morning as the aluminium giant’s large purchase prompted sellers to raise their offers. Buyers, however, did not feel comfortable with the prices.

Spot trades were mostly done at 13,650-13,660 yuan/mt in Guangdong this morning, and the spread with prices in Shanghai narrowed to 30 yuan/mt.

Chalco purchased over 5,000 mt of spot aluminium across southern markets this morning. Purchases by downstream consumers improved in Guangdong, albeit by a small margin. Trades between traders still accounted for the majority of trading activities in Guangdong.