Futures Stop Falling and Rebound, Large Traders Sharply Raise Prices [SMM South China Spot Aluminum Daily Review]

SMM August 21 News:

Futures stopped falling and rebounded today, with spot aluminum in South China performing resiliently. Tightening arrivals combined with substantial destocking injected strong confidence into sellers; large-scale holders were particularly proactive, actively trying to raise quotations and intentionally slowing down the pace of shipments. Meanwhile, the absolute price remained in a relatively mild range, limiting room for outflow of one-way arbitrage cargoes and consequently curbing selling pressure; mainstream quotations maintained a premium of 0~+10 yuan/mt. Demand side, downstream responded moderately to the price rebound, with some willingness to chase price increases, continuously restocking in volume; traders also gradually entered the market and increased their willingness to take deliveries, and the dual demand resonance quickly turned market liquidity from relatively ample to a tight state, prompting large players to again significantly raise prices to purchase and make the market. The supply-demand pattern clearly leaned toward a tight balance, and intraday trading was relatively active. Spot aluminum transaction prices were concentrated at a premium of 140 yuan/mt to 180 yuan/mt over the SHFE aluminum 2609 contract.