SHANGHAI, Jul 21 (SMM) – SMM China aluminium ingot inventory stood at 668,000 mt as of Thursday July 21, down 29,000 mt from last Thursday and 161,000 mt from a year ago. The ingot social inventory began to fall again in July. Wuxi saw a weekly reduction of 15,000 mt due to delayed arrivals and shipments, and most arrivals are in transportation after the pandemic situation improves. The inventory in Gongyi is being digested with local manufacturers starting to purchase, alleviating local inventory pressure. The aluminium ingot social inventory is likely to remain low based on the current rhythm of arrivals and shipments.

SMM aluminium billet social inventory dropped 3,100 mt from a week ago to 95,400 mt as of July 21. The inventory dropped across the major markets except Foshan and Huzhou, which is partly due to less shipments from smelters in north-west China. On the other hand, falling aluminium prices also triggered downstream restocking demand. It is expected that aluminium billet inventory will keep falling next week.