Central China Market Recovers Slightly, East China Market Remains Sluggish [SMM Spot Aluminum Midday Review]

Published: Jul 2, 2026 11:26

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SMM July 2 news:

In the early session, the trading center of the SHFE aluminum 2606 contract was higher than the same period of the previous trading day. Market warrant supply continued to flow out, and overall circulating spot supply was loose. Downstream saw only sporadic restocking, and with bearish sentiment spreading on futures, end-user purchase willingness was generally weak. Mainstream transactions were at parity to a premium of 20 yuan/mt against the SHFE aluminum 2407 contract. Today, the east China market shipment sentiment index was 2.91, up 0.08 from the previous trading day; the purchase sentiment index was 2.73, flat from the previous trading day.

Futures aluminum corrected from the early session of the previous day. Today, the central China spot market trading atmosphere warmed slightly, with sentiment of rushing to buy amid continuous price rise and holding back amid price downturn evident among downstream processing enterprises. Moreover, the absolute price recovery boosted suppliers' shipment sentiment, and overall market trading volume increased from the previous day. The actual transaction price range in the central China market ended up being centered around a discount of 40-60 yuan/mt against the SHFE aluminum 2407 contract. Today, the central China market shipment sentiment index was 2.88, up 0.02 from the previous day; the purchase sentiment index was 2.11, up 0.01 from the previous day.

On the inventory front, aluminum ingot inventory in major consuming regions fell 1.1 from the previous day, with destocking seen across all three regions.

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