[SMM Spot Aluminum Lunchtime Review: Spot Markets Stabilize in Multiple Regions Today, with Absolute Prices Retracing and Downstream Purchases Showing Slight Improvement] On the inventory side, according to SMM's data on domestic aluminum ingot inventories in three regions, domestic electrolytic aluminum ingot inventories stood at 335,500 mt on July 16, a destocking of 6,500 mt from the previous trading day. In the short term, the volume of casting ingots in the spot market has increased, providing some supply to the market. Despite the possibility of destocking due to uneven arrivals of aluminum ingots during the week, considering in-transit cargoes, aluminum ingot inventories are still expected to experience inventory buildup. Moreover, the off-season sentiment in the spot market is strong, with weak downstream demand and significant production cuts. It is difficult for purchases to see a qualitative improvement, and spot premiums/discounts in the market may fluctuate.

Futures market: Overnight LME copper opened at $9,635.5/mt, initially fluctuated downward to hit a session low of $9,598/mt, then steadily climbed upward and reached a session high of $9,657.5/mt near the close, finally closing at $9,657.5/mt with a 0.15% gain.

[SMM Morning Comment on Cast Aluminum Alloy: The most-traded cast aluminum futures contract rebounds slightly overnight, while the spot market shows weak upward momentum] Following the significant drop in aluminum prices on Monday, prices rebounded slightly on Tuesday. Quotations in the secondary aluminum market generally remained stable, with SMM ADC12 prices holding steady at 20,000 yuan/mt. The price spread between A00 aluminum and ADC12 slightly widened.

[SMM Aluminum Morning Meeting Summary: Domestic positive factors support prices amid off-season inventory buildup; aluminum prices fluctuate at highs, focusing on inventory and demand changes] On the macro side, the positive atmosphere in China remains unchanged; in the US, consumer price inflation rose to a five-month high in June, with costs of some goods increasing, indicating that tariffs are beginning to impact inflation and may lead the US Fed to maintain a wait-and-see attitude before September. On the fundamental side, China's operating capacity of electrolytic aluminum slightly decreased due to replacement projects, with the proportion of liquid aluminum dropping to 74.78% and casting ingot volume increasing. Cost side, there has been an upward trend recently due to rising alumina prices. On the demand side, most downstream sectors are experiencing a strong off-season atmosphere, with aluminum prices rising during the off-season, leading to a more pronounced suppression of demand. The operating rate in the aluminum processing sector remains sluggish. Additionally, social inventory of aluminum ingots in China's electrolytic aluminum sector has once again shifted to an inventory buildup trend. SMM expects that aluminum prices will consolidate at highs in the short term, with subsequent focus on changes in inventory and demand.

The most-traded SHFE aluminum 2508 contract opened at 20,410 yuan/mt today, with a high of 20,440 yuan/mt, a low of 20,375 yuan/mt, and closed at 20,430 yuan/mt, up 0.12%. Trading volume reached 61,400 lots and open interest stood at 205,000 lots.

GAC (Guinea Alumina Corporation), the bauxite mining wing operating in Guinea has had become extensively dependent on the African country’s bauxite resources.