Aluminium Inventories Extend Declines, but Vary By Region

SHANGHAI, Nov 28 (SMM) - The aluminium ingot social inventories across China’s eight major markets hit a new low of 516,000 mt as of November 28, a drop of 2,000 mt from last Thursday. The figure was also 97,000 mt lower than a month ago and 498,000 mt less than the same period last year. 

The inventory in Wuxi rose slightly, driven by cargo arrivals and falling shipments out of warehouses. The inventory in Gongyi added 6,000 mt as cargoes arrived after the transportation was restored. In contrast, the inventory in Foshan showed a downward trend, falling to 118,000 mt as the weekly shipments out of warehouses rose 4,000 mt last week due to delivery of long-term orders. Inventories in Hangzhou and Shanghai also declined slightly. The inventory changes varied by region due to the differences in arrivals and shipments out of warehouses. The weekly shipments out of warehouses in the eight major markets fell 9,700 mt last week as fewer arrivals constrained the purchases while high aluminium prices turned some downstream buyers more cautious.