[SMM Weekly Aluminum Price Review: Macro Interest Rate Cut Expectations Coupled with Ultra-Low Inventory, Aluminum Prices Hold Up Well amid Hidden Game Risks]

In terms of aluminum billet inventory, according to SMM statistics, the domestic aluminum billet inventory in major consumption areas stood at 127,500 mt on June 12, a decrease of 2,000 mt from Monday and a decline of 2,500 mt WoW, still hovering around 130,000 mt. In the past week, the regional distribution of aluminum billet inventory has shown divergence. In the Wuxi area, there was still an increase in warehouse arrivals, but poor market transactions exacerbated the local inventory buildup. In the Nanchang area, due to the persistently high Shanghai-Guangdong price spread, more billets were transported from the billet plants around South China to the Nanchang area, leading to an increase in local inventory, while arrivals in the Guangdong area were relatively low. In terms of outflows from warehouses, the total outflows from public warehouses of aluminum billets in China during the period from June 3 to June 8 amounted to 36,400 mt, a decrease of 1,200 mt from the previous period.

[SMM Midday Review of Spot Aluminum: Inventory Continues to Decline, Price Spread Between Futures Contracts and Premium Rise in Tandem] This morning, the center of SHFE aluminum prices continued to break through upwards, piercing through the narrow fluctuation rangebound near 20,500 yuan/mt. Cargo availability in east China is tight, with the backwardation structure further expanding, and suppliers maintaining a high premium. 1: In-transit cargoes are expected to be limited; 2: The ultra-low inventory level in the spot market indicates that deliverable cargoes are expected to be scarce; 3: Major players are purchasing at high premiums in the market. The market is trading at a premium of 30-40 yuan/mt against the SMM average price. Today, SMM A00 aluminum is quoted at 20,650 yuan/mt, up 250 yuan/mt from the previous trading day, with a premium of 70 yuan/mt against the June contract and 220 yuan/mt against the July contract.

In the days following the US President's decision to double the import tariffs on steel and aluminum from 25% to 50%, non-ferrous metal market participants expressed various concerns about fundamental changes at an industry event held from June 2 to 5.