SMM’s Latest Update on China Social Inventory of Aluminium Ingots and Billets as of October 13

SHANGHAI, Oct 13 (SMM) - Aluminium ingot: The aluminium ingot social inventories across China’s eight major markets totalled 655,000 mt as of October 13, a drop of 19,000 mt from October 8, the first trading day after the National Day holiday. The figure was also 232,000 mt lower than in the same period last year. The overall inventory began to decline this week, with Wuxi, Foshan and Gongyi being the major contributors. Gongyi saw limited arrivals from Xinjiang due to hindered shipments from the region, but the transportation at Sanping railway station in Xinjiang is now being gradually restored. The pandemic outbreak in Inner Mongolia and Gansu delayed cargo arrivals in Wuxi. In this context, the social inventory fell, even when trades in the spot market were sluggish. The rail transport in Xinjiang will begin to recover from October 14, so will that in Gongyi from October 16, thus the cargo arrivals will pick up in the future, which could potentially cause the social inventory to accumulate at the end of October. 

Aluminium billet: The domestic aluminium billet social inventory dropped 10,000 mt from this Monday October 10 to 97,600 mt as of October 13. The inventories fell across all the five major regions: Foshan (-3,400 mt), Wuxi (-2,100 mt), Changzhou (-300 mt), Huzhou (-3,500 mt) and Nanchang (-700 mt). Suppliers in Yunnan and Xinjiang reduced their shipments to Guangdong. Transportation in Xinjiang was hampered by the pandemic outbreak, reducing arrivals across the consumption hubs.