In the early trading session today, SHFE aluminum shorts exited the market, causing the market prices center to shift upwards. However, the near-month contracts showed weak gains and were mainly narrowly fluctuating. In the early session, the spot market transactions in Wuxi and other areas in east China were moderate, with sellers mainly stabilizing prices and downstream buyers purchasing based on rigid demand According to SMM statistics, the aluminum ingot inventory in Wuxi (excluding Hangzhou, Changzhou, Haian, etc.) was 309,100 mt today, a decrease of 1,000 mt from the previous trading day. Today, the SMM A00 aluminum price maintained a discount of 50 yuan/mt against the 2408 contract, with the spot price recorded at 18,970 yuan/mt, an increase of 70 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. In the second trading session, the market fluctuated upwards, and downstream buyers showed higher enthusiasm for restocking, leading to a slight improvement in market transactions. The mainstream transaction prices in east China today were around zero to a premium of 30 yuan/mt against the SMM A00 aluminum price.
Today, spot transactions in central China showed no improvement. Due to the off-season for downstream operations, demand weakened, and aluminum ingot inventories continued to accumulate in the region. According to SMM statistics, aluminum ingot inventory in Gongyi today was about 94,400 mt, an increase of 1,800 mt compared to the previous trading day. In the morning, sellers held firm on prices, with quotes slightly higher than yesterday, but actual transactions were still mainly at large discounts. Today, the SMM central China price maintained a discount of around 180 yuan/mt to the 2408 contract, with the average spot price recorded at 18,840 yuan/mt, up 70 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. Mainstream spot transactions were at a discount of 10 yuan/mt to a premium of 20 yuan/mt to the SMM central China price.
According to SMM data, the social inventory of aluminum ingots was 801,000 mt on Monday, an increase of 11,000 mt from last Thursday. Overall, the supply side has shown a continuous growth trend in recent months, while demand has weakened with the arrival of the off-season. The operating rate in the aluminum processing industry dropped to a low point, and the effects of some stimulus measures have yet to be seen. Last week, outflows from warehouses of aluminum ingots decreased by 14,200 mt WoW to 110,500 mt. Under these circumstances, destocking of the social inventory of aluminum ingots has been challenging. As of now, the social inventory of aluminum ingots remains at a relatively high level compared to the same period in the past three years. With ample market circulation, short-term spot discounts may persist under inventory pressure.
![Abnormal Inventory Accumulation of Aluminum Ingots in South China in Mid-to-Late March [SMM Analysis]](https://imgqn.smm.cn/production/admin/votes/imagesqsDLb20240416161800.jpeg)
