Aluminium Ingot Social Inventory Dropped while Billet Inventory Rose

SHANGHAI, Aug 25 (SMM) - SMM aluminium ingot social inventory stood at 679,000 mt as of Thursday August 25, down 1,000 mt from a week ago and 75,000 mt from the same period last year. The inventory added 9,000 mt compared with the end of July. The inventory was basically flat on a week-on-week basis. In detail, the inventory in Foshan and Hainan dropped 6,000 mt with the engagement of some arbitragers in light of wide spread between premiums/discounts in Wuxi and south China that reached 200 yuan/mt. On the other hand, some sources were shipped to Sichuan and Chongqing amid serious production cuts in these regions. The inventory in Shanghai and Wuxi changed little. Currently, the production cuts in Sichuan have not yet been reflected in the spot market, and the production of some fabricators is also restricted. Market players shall watch the inventory changes after the impact of production cuts materialises.

SMM aluminium billet social inventory rose across major markets in China this week, except for Foshan. In Foshan, local inventory fell after the period of centralised shipments ended, and as the downstream was more active in picking up the cargoes these days. In Wuxi, the inventory added due to busy arrivals and sluggish demand, while that in Changzhou, Huzhou and Nanchang was still on the rise as a result in muted transactions. On the whole, aluminium liquid supply has been affected by the power rationing in Sichuan province, where the billet factors have been completely shut down. It is expected the supply of aluminium billet will fall, with eyes on the progress of power rationing in other regions.