Aluminium Ingot Social Inventories Rose Slightly

SHANGHAI, Aug 29 (SMM) - The aluminium ingot social inventories across China’s eight major markets totalled 682,000 mt as of August 29, up 3,000 mt from last Thursday, but 71,000 mt lower than in the same period last year. The figure was 12,000 mt higher than at the end of July. The overall growth was mainly contributed by east China as high aluminium prices last week cooled down buying interest. Inventory in Wuxi added 10,000 mt due to arrivals over the weekend, while that in Hangzhou rose 1,000 mt. Weekly shipments out of warehouses declined across each of the major markets, with Hangzhou registering a fall of over 50% to just 4,400 mt. In contrast, inventory in Foshan fell as local prices were 200 yuan/mt below those in east China, driving traders to transfer cargoes from Foshan to east China. On the whole, as the production cut in Sichuan has affected the supply of aluminium ingots, the accumulation of inventories is expected to slow down. Downstream buyers lost interest after aluminium prices rose to around 19,000 yuan/mt. The inventory changes will mainly depend on how rapidly downstream orders will recover in September.