Aluminum Billet Inventory Surges to Three-Year High, Post-Holiday Peaks Forecasted

SMM, January 20:

In terms of aluminum billet inventory, according to SMM statistics, as of January 20, domestic social inventory of aluminum billets stood at 200,800 mt, with an inventory buildup of 49,700 mt WoW. As downstream profile enterprises have completed pre-holiday stockpiling and aluminum prices returned to the 20,000 yuan/mt level, buyers remained cautious, while arrivals of aluminum billets increased, significantly accelerating the pace of inventory buildup. On a YoY basis, the gap compared to the same period last year widened to 90,100 mt, remaining at a three-year high for the same period and far ahead. Currently, domestic aluminum billet inventory in January is expected to continue building up. This week, domestic aluminum billet inventory has already exceeded expectations, breaking the 200,000 mt mark, with post-holiday inventory peaks estimated at around 300,000-350,000 mt.

Regarding outflows from warehouses, as pre-holiday stockpiling has concluded, last week's aluminum billet outflows from warehouses dropped sharply by 13,100 mt WoW to 29,000 mt.