Slightly Improved Trading Sentiment in Central and East China, Stockpiling Demand Released [SMM Spot Aluminum Midday Comment]

Published: Jul 17, 2026 18:59

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SMM News, July 17:

In early trading, the center of SHFE aluminum 2606 contract trading moved above the level seen at the same time in the previous trading day. Affected by the off-season, market purchasing sentiment remained weak today, but overall purchasing sentiment rose WoW from yesterday, and circulating supply in the market was still relatively ample. Market transactions were done at parity to a discount of 20 yuan/mt against the SHFE aluminum 08 contract. Today, the shipments sentiment index in the east China market was 3.11, unchanged WoW; the purchasing sentiment index was 2.9, up 0.01 WoW.

Today, trading sentiment in the central China market continued to rebound WoW from the previous two days. With Friday coinciding, downstream processing enterprises’ stockpiling demand was released to some extent, and trading firms engaging in both spot and futures market maintained strong stockpiling sentiment, providing solid support to market prices. In addition, suppliers showed a pronounced willingness to hold prices firm and hold back from selling. Ultimately, the actual transaction price range in the central China market hovered at a discount of 110-140 yuan/mt against the SHFE aluminum 08 contract, with a trend of continued strengthening. Today, the shipments sentiment index in the central China market was 2.99, up 0.05 WoW; the purchasing sentiment index was 3.03, up 0.12 WoW.

Inventory side, today’s aluminum ingot inventory in major consumption areas fell 0.3 MoM, with the main destocking areas being Guangdong and Wuxi.

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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