Update: Short circuit suspends East Hope’s aluminium smelter in Inner Mongolia

[Macro-Geopolitical Risks Have Yet to Subside, and Aluminum Prices Maintain a Fluctuating Trend] Continued destocking in LME inventory has provided bottom support for LME aluminum, but with tightening liquidity and profit-taking by bulls, upside momentum remained insufficient, and the backwardation structure has weakened somewhat. China’s social inventory rose to a high for the same period in nearly five years, and the inventory buildup cycle has yet to end; high inventory and weak spot fundamentals jointly suppressed upward momentum. Divergence between domestic and overseas drivers continued, the SHFE/LME price ratio kept weakening, and prices were mainly under pressure in the short term.

After the Chinese New Year holiday, China’s aluminum market continued to see an inventory buildup, with social inventory rising लगातार and repeatedly hitting highs for recent years. However, as the traditional peak consumption season gradually got underway, downstream pickup enthusiasm rebounded, pressure from aluminum ingot backlogs eased significantly, and the pace of inventory buildup has already shown signs of slowing...

[SMM Analysis: China’s Aluminum Foil Exports Edged Down 0.74% YoY in January-February, Geopolitical Conflicts Disrupted the Middle East Trade Chain] According to customs data, China’s total aluminum foil exports in January-February 2026 (tariff codes 76071110, 76071120, 76071190, 76071900, 76072000) reached 214,800 mt, down 0.74% YoY from 2025, of which exports were 121,100 mt in January, up 2% YoY, and 93,700 mt in February, down 4% YoY.