SMM August 7 –
In early trading, the center of the SHFE aluminum 2608 contract continued to rise notably from yesterday, but with continuous destocking and a widening Contango structure, most suppliers were unwilling to lower prices, and actual transaction prices for A00 aluminum ingots were at a discount of 40-20 yuan/mt against the August contract. Today, the selling sentiment index in east China was 3.15, up 0.02 day-on-day; the buying sentiment index was 3.09, up 0.13 day-on-day.
Aluminum futures continued to rise, and with Friday's stockpiling cycle in the central China market, buying sentiment from downstream processing enterprises remained subdued. Trading firms engaged in both spot and futures markets made large purchases, and given the wide discount, major suppliers' inclination to hold prices firm and hold back from selling grew increasingly notable, driving a steady improvement in premiums and discounts in the market. Ultimately, actual transaction prices in the central China market were in the range of a discount of 120-160 yuan/mt against the SHFE August contract. Today, the selling sentiment index in central China was 3.01, up 0.04 day-on-day; the buying sentiment index was 2.97, up 0.01 day-on-day.
On the inventory front, aluminum ingot inventories in major consumption areas decreased by 8,500 mt day-on-day, with Guangdong, Wuxi, and Gongyi all showing destocking.
