Aluminium billet inventories rose 12,400 mt on week

SHANGHAI, Jun 17 (SMM) – The outbound quantity of aluminium billet increased 700 mt or 1.6% to 45,000 mt last week. The overall market trading atmosphere was tepid recently, and the downstream was less willingness to restock under the fluctuation of aluminium prices.

SMM data showed that aluminium billet stocks across the five major consumption areas — Foshan, Wuxi, Huzhou, Changzhou and Nanchang — in China increased 14% or 12,400 mt from a week ago to 100,700 mt as of Thursday June 17. Stocks in Foshan, Changzhou and Nanchang rose by 17.4%, 32.2% and 22.3% respectively, while stocks in Wuxi fell slightly. The main reason was that aluminium prices still fluctuated at a high level this week, and with the seasonal weakening of consumption, the enthusiasm of receiving goods of the downstream was not high.

SMM survey showed that the orders of downstream aluminium extrusion enterprises showed signs of weakening, and operating rates of some small and medium-sized enterprises also started to decline in different degrees. It is expected that outbound quantity of aluminium billet will decrease next week and it is more likely that aluminum billet inventories will continue to pile up.