East China Market Trading Active with Prices Rising, Central China Purchasing Sentiment Mixed [SMM Spot Aluminum Midday Review]

Published: May 29, 2026 16:13

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SMM May 29 update:

During the morning session, the SHFE aluminum 2606 contract traded in a range, with the overall price center moving higher than the previous trading day. Overall downstream stockpiling sentiment showed no significant improvement today, while traders were active in stockpiling. Affected by recent low aluminum prices and some bullish sentiment, some sellers' shipment sentiment declined. Mainstream spot quotations in the market ranged from SMMA00 average price to +20 yuan/mt. East China market shipment sentiment index was 2.95 today, down 0.02 MoM; purchasing sentiment index was 3.4, up 0.04 MoM.

Aluminum futures prices rebounded slightly today, and as it was the last trading day of May, suppliers in central China showed strong shipment sentiment. However, affected by some traders driving up market prices due to a shortage of invoices for the current month and concerns over the sustainability of downstream processing enterprises' orders, downstream buying sentiment was poor, with low willingness to stockpile ahead of the weekend. Ultimately, actual transaction prices in the central China market ranged from central China price plus 10 yuan to central China price minus 20 yuan, with a downward trend. Central China market shipment sentiment index was 2.86 today, flat MoM; purchasing sentiment index was 2.24, down 0.02 MoM.

Inventory side, aluminum ingot inventory in major consumption areas decreased by 14,500 mt MoM today, with all three regions showing a destocking trend.

Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM‘s internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

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