A00 Aluminum Reported Flat Today, Aluminum Scrap Prices Steady [Aluminum Scrap Daily Review]

SMM, July 27:

Today, SMM A00 spot aluminum prices closed at 23,200 yuan/mt, flat from the previous trading day, with the aluminum scrap market remaining largely stable. In terms of the price spread, on July 27, the price difference between A00 aluminum and mixed aluminum extrusion scrap free of paint in Foshan was around 2,030 yuan/mt, while that for shredded aluminum tense scrap was around 710 yuan/mt, continuing to stay at historically low levels. On the import front, according to customs data, China's aluminum scrap imports in June 2026 totaled approximately 132,800 mt, down from 152,000 mt in May, marking the third consecutive monthly decline. From the cumulative data for 2026, total aluminum scrap imports from January to June stood at approximately 981,800 mt. Recently, import orders from Southeast Asia to Guangdong have increased, but although the import window has improved compared with the earlier period, new transactions were mainly concentrated in low-priced resources, and overall spot market activity remains limited. Affected by the UAE's aluminum scrap export ban and the EU's tariff hike policy, the tightening effect on high-quality aluminum scrap imports will become more pronounced in the future.

The aluminum scrap market is expected to continue the narrow, sideways consolidation pattern this week, constrained by weak demand and supported by costs. As the off-season deepens, downstream end-user orders are unlikely to see substantial improvement, and scrap utilization enterprises will continue to purchase as needed, so the purchasing sentiment is unlikely to significantly improve. The mainstream operating range for shredded aluminum tense scrap (priced based on aluminum content) is expected to center around 19,800-20,500 yuan/mt. Currently, the price spread between primary aluminum and aluminum scrap has narrowed to historically low levels, sharply weakening the cost advantage of aluminum scrap over primary aluminum. If primary aluminum prices continue to decline, the substitution effect of primary aluminum for aluminum scrap will accelerate, and close attention must be paid to the crowding-out effect of aluminum price trends on aluminum scrap demand.