Aluminium ingot destocking has slowed down, inventories at risk of building up soon

The aluminium ingot social inventories across China’s eight major markets stood at 518,000 mt as of June 21, down 2,000 mt from June 15 and 239,000 mt from the same period last year. The inventory, albeit a five year low compared to the same period of previous years, has begun to fall at a slower pace. Cargoes arrivals remained relatively low in major markets, except for Shandong’s Linyin, where a large smelter made delivery and ingot production increased. The social inventories have approached 500,000 mt since the beginning of June. With production restarts in Yunnan and inflows of cargoes from Xinjiang, south-west and north China, the destocking may slow down. SMM expects the social inventories to stop falling and begin to grow in late June or early July.