Imported Bauxite Prices Rise Again, Alumina Prices Plunge May Affect Bauxite Buying Sentiment [SMM Bauxite Weekly Review]

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SMM News, January 9:

Domestic Bauxite:

This week, the domestic bauxite market saw no significant changes, with prices remaining stable at high levels.

As of today, the self pick-up transaction prices at crushing plants excluding VAT for bauxite with an Al/Si ratio of 5.0 and alumina content of 60% were approximately 640-680 yuan/mt in Shanxi, 580-620 yuan/mt in Henan, 510-550 yuan/mt in Guizhou (Al/Si ratio of 5.5, alumina content of 58%), and 320-335 yuan/mt in Guangxi (Al/Si ratio of 6.0, alumina content of 53%).

Imported Bauxite:

According to data from January 3, the weekly port arrivals of bauxite at domestic ports totaled 4.3682 million mt, an increase of 708,200 mt WoW. Weekly port departures of bauxite from Guinea's main ports totaled 3.6238 million mt, an increase of 423,200 mt WoW, while weekly port departures from Australia's main ports totaled 567,900 mt, a decrease of 612,800 mt WoW.

The supply of imported bauxite remained tight, and imported ore prices rose slightly again this week. As of January 9, the SMM CIF index for imported bauxite was $108.26/mt, up $2.47/mt WoW, with the growth rate narrowing compared to earlier periods.

SMM Comments: Recently, the operating rate of alumina has slightly improved, coupled with some stocking demand from newly commissioned alumina projects, keeping bauxite demand steady. However, with alumina prices dropping significantly and profit margins shrinking, some market participants reported that downstream buyers are relatively cautious about purchasing high-priced bauxite. Mixed signals from the bauxite market suggest that prices may fluctuate at high levels in the short term.

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