Aluminium Ingot Social Inventories in China Show Signs of Turning Point after Continuous Accumulation

SHANGHAI, Feb 16 (SMM) – The aluminium ingot social inventories across China’s eight major markets totalled 1.22 million mt as of February 16, up 26,000 mt from a week ago and 177,000 mt from a year ago. Since January 19, the second day before the CNY holiday, the social inventory has added 472,000 mt.

Nevertheless, it’s worth noting that the week-on-week growth has slowed down significantly and the inventory even dwindled 2,000 mt from February 13, which could be viewed as an imminent turning point in the seasonal accumulation cycle. The inventory increase in the third week after this year’s CNY holiday was considerably smaller than in years past.

Considering that aluminium smelters in Yunnan are still at risk of production curtailment due to local power shortages, the social inventory should witness only mild increase in the future.