Futures market: Overnight, LME copper opened and touched a high of $9,751/mt, then fluctuated downward throughout the session, nearing a low of $9,676/mt before finally settling at $9,730/mt, down 0.74%.

[SMM Morning Comment on Cast Aluminum Alloy: The Most-Traded Contract Slightly Declines, with Aluminum Scrap Support Competing against Sluggish Demand] Yesterday, aluminum prices rebounded slightly, and the secondary aluminum market maintained a stable pattern, with SMM ADC12 prices holding steady at 20,100 yuan/mt. Recently, end-use consumption has been sluggish, and actual transactions have been sluggish amid weak demand. However, the continuously high purchasing prices of aluminum scrap have provided support for prices. Overall, cost support will continue to limit the downside room for prices, while high social inventory and persistently sluggish actual demand will suppress the upside room for prices. It is expected that the short-term ADC12 prices will continue to fluctuate rangebound.

[SMM Aluminum Morning Meeting Summary: US Fed Maintains Interest Rates Unchanged, Aluminum Prices Fluctuate at Highs in the Short Term] Overall, on the macro side, the US Fed has maintained interest rates unchanged, and the US dollar index remains strong. Domestically, policies related to "combating the rat race" have driven up industrial metals, and the long-term tone of "promoting consumption and stabilizing growth" remains unchanged. On the fundamental side, amid the release of supply increments and the pressure from the off-season for consumption, the expectation of inventory buildup remains strong. Additionally, in recent times, market sentiment regarding policies such as "combating the rat race" and "high-quality development" has cooled down somewhat, and the futures market has jumped initially and then pulled back. In the short term, aluminum prices are expected to undergo a high-level pullback. Subsequently, attention should be paid to changes in inventory and market sentiment.

Since Q2, influenced by the dual factors of the gradual arrival of in-transit shipments and the weak domestic downstream demand, port inventories have risen rapidly, and the domestic petroleum coke market has shown a trend of abundant supply. Since July, the petroleum coke market has witnessed positive changes. The enthusiasm for stockpiling in the downstream anode material market has significantly increased, while the domestic supply of low-sulphur petroleum coke has decreased. Driven by these two favorable factors, the low-sulphur petroleum coke market has performed well, leading to a continuous recovery in the overall market atmosphere and a subsequent increase in domestic petroleum coke prices. However, due to the uncertainty of tariff policies, domestic traders have adopted a cautious attitude in taking orders, and their enthusiasm for purchasing high-priced overseas market products has declined. Overall, it is expected that the subsequent import volume of petroleum coke will continue to decline.

[SMM Morning Comment on Cast Aluminum Alloy: Bullish and Bearish Factors Intertwined, Alloy Prices Fluctuate Rangebound] On Tuesday, aluminum prices fluctuated rangebound, with the secondary aluminum market remaining stable. The SMM ADC12 price held steady at 20,100 yuan/mt. Recently, end-use consumption has been sluggish, and actual transactions have been sluggish amid weak demand. However, the consistently high purchase prices of aluminum scrap have provided support for prices. Overall, cost support will continue to limit the downside room for prices, while the high social inventory and persistently sluggish actual demand will suppress the upside room for prices. It is expected that the short-term ADC12 price will still maintain a pattern of fluctuating rangebound.

[SMM Aluminum Morning Meeting Summary: Sino-US Tariff Policy Eases, Aluminum Prices Fluctuate at Highs in Short Term] Overall, on the macro side, in the short term, influenced by the easing of Sino-US tariffs and the IMF's upward revision of growth expectations, market sentiment is optimistic. However, the domestic economy still faces challenges such as employment pressure and insufficient domestic demand. Domestic policies related to "combating rat race competition" have driven up industrial metals, and the long-term tone of "promoting consumption and stabilizing growth" remains unchanged. On the fundamental side, amid the release of supply increments and the suppression of the off-season for consumption, the expectation of inventory buildup remains strong. In addition, recently, the sentiment of funds towards policies such as "combating rat race competition" and "high-quality development" has cooled down, and futures jumped initially and then pulled back. It is expected that aluminum prices will mainly fluctuate at highs in the short term. Subsequent attention should be paid to changes in inventory and fund sentiment.