[SMM Midday Spot Aluminum Review: SHFE Aluminum Front-Month Contract Soars, Sluggish Spot Market Trading Amid Widening Price Spread Between Futures Contracts] Overnight, the SHFE aluminum front-month contract surged above 20,800 yuan/mt amid bulls increasing their positions. The center of the morning session shifted higher again, breaking through 20,900 yuan/mt, with the June-July price spread widening to b430 yuan/mt. In east China, morning market quotes revolved around a premium of 20-30 yuan/mt against the SMM average price. As the price spread between the front-month and next-month contracts widened further, the market entered a state of high prices but no transactions, with widespread discounts against the SMM average price and sluggish buying interest. Today, SMM A00 aluminum was quoted at 20,730 yuan/mt, up 80 yuan/mt from the previous trading day, with a discount of 210 yuan/mt against the June contract and a premium of 270 yuan/mt against the July contract.

[SMM Weekly Survey of Aluminum Downstream: Pressure on Cost Side of Aluminum Processing Industry Intensifies, Most Sectors Show Weakness in New Orders] This week, the overall off-season atmosphere in the downstream aluminum processing industry was strong, with weekly operating rates declining by 0.5 percentage points WoW to 60.4%...

According to SMM statistics, in terms of domestic aluminum billet inventory in two locations, the inventory of aluminum billet in Guangdong was 55,000 mt, and the inventory of aluminum billet in Wuxi was 20,800 mt, totaling 75,800 mt, up 600 mt MoM. Today, the center of aluminum prices remained high. To realize profits at elevated levels, suppliers significantly reduced their quotes in the aluminum billet market on Friday. Faced with the continuously rising base prices, downstream buyers maintained a wait-and-see attitude, and buying sentiment hit rock bottom. Suppliers further lowered their quotes during the trading session. In some regions, the phenomenon of "negative processing fees" even emerged for aluminum billets, indicating fierce market competition. Overall trading volume was unsatisfactory, with only some special-type aluminum billets achieving slight trading volume. Today, the quotes in the Foshan aluminum billet market were 130/180 yuan/mt, down 50 yuan/mt; the processing fees in the Wuxi market were 100/170 yuan/mt, down 100 yuan/mt; and the processing fees in the Nanchang region were 0/50 yuan/mt, down 80 yuan/mt. (Unit: yuan/mt)

June 13 News: According to SMM statistics, on June 13, the inventory of aluminum ingots in Guangdong was 181,000 mt; in Wuxi, it was 108,000 mt; and in Gongyi, it was 45,500 mt. The total inventory across these three locations was 334,500 mt, a decrease of 4,500 mt from the previous trading day.

As voices from aluminium associations across US trade-allied nations grow louder, one consensus is becoming clear that the United States’ decision to increase tariffs on aluminium imports to 50 per cent is unlikely to benefit its global partners.

To avert a supply squeeze, the London Metal Exchange has ordered Mercuria Energy Group Ltd to loan out part of its outsized June aluminium position, which exceeds the metal available in LME warehouses.