Brisk demand for spot aluminium in south China widens Guangdong-Shanghai price spread

SHANGHAI, May 9 (SMM) – The price spreads for spot aluminium between Guangdong and Shanghai widened on the morning of Thursday May 9 as demand in the south performed stronger.

Spot trades in Guangdong this morning were heard at 14,110-14,120 yuan/mt, standing 40 yuan/mt higher than prices in Shanghai. This compared with a spread of up to 10 yuan/mt on Wednesday morning.

SMM data showed that social inventories of primary aluminium in Nanhai of Guangdong province declined 9,000 mt from Sunday May 5 to 310,000 mt as of Thursday May 9. The mt decline was the second largest decline among the eight major consumption areas.

The May contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rebounded in morning trade after falling below 14,000 yuan/mt overnight. This kept traded prices of spot cargoes in Shanghai unchanged from the previous morning, at 14,070-14,080 yuan/mt with a steady premium of 20-30 yuan/mt over the SHFE 1905 contract.  

Deals occurred at 14,070-14,080 yuan/mt in Wuxi and 14,080-14,100 yuan/mt in Hangzhou in the morning, flat with Wednesday morning.

While downstream consumers remained cautious, overall trades across eastern markets did not weaken from the previous morning as the major trader continued to make purchases.