Fundamentals show a clear surplus, with weekly inventory buildup at bauxite ports exceeding 2 million mt {{SMM Bauxite Weekly Review}}

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SMM News on April 30:

Domestic bauxite market:

The domestic bauxite market remained stable this week.

As of today, in Shanxi, the self pick-up price (excluding VAT) at the crushing plant for bauxite with an Al/Si ratio of 5.0 and 60% alumina content was approximately 600-640 yuan/mt; in Henan, the self pick-up price (excluding VAT) at the crushing plant for bauxite with an Al/Si ratio of 5.0 and 60% alumina content was around 550-590 yuan/mt; in Guizhou, the self pick-up price (excluding VAT) at the crushing plant for bauxite with an Al/Si ratio of 5.5 and 58% alumina content was 440-480 yuan/mt; in Guangxi, the self pick-up price (excluding VAT) at the crushing plant for bauxite with an Al/Si ratio of 6.0 and 53% alumina content was 320-335 yuan/mt.

Imported bauxite market:

According to data on April 27, the total weekly bauxite arrivals at domestic ports were 4.8612 million mt, an increase of 657,300 mt from the previous week; the total weekly bauxite port departures from main ports in Guinea were 3.8181 million mt, an increase of 502,600 mt from the previous week; the total weekly bauxite port departures from main ports in Australia were 389,200 mt, a decrease of 256,900 mt from the previous week.

In terms of prices, a small volume of bauxite transactions were concluded this week, with the standard grade (45% alumina content and 3% silica content) priced at around $77/mt. This week, the SMM CIF index price for imported bauxite decreased by $4.55/mt from last Thursday to $78.56/mt, and the CIF price for Guinea bauxite decreased by $6/mt from last Thursday to $77/mt.

Overall, bauxite prices are expected to remain under pressure in the short term. Although the operating capacity of alumina has slightly rebounded due to the commissioning of new capacity and the resumption of production after maintenance, some enterprises have not restored their operating levels to pre-maintenance levels. Meanwhile, some alumina enterprises have implemented production cuts, and the operating capacity of alumina has not yet returned to the levels seen in March and earlier, resulting in a decrease in bauxite demand. On the supply side, there has been a significant increase in the supply of imported bauxite. With an oversupply of bauxite in the market, inventory buildup at bauxite ports increased by 2.06 million mt this week. Bauxite prices are expected to continue to decline in the short term.

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