Chinese Aluminium Smelters’ Profits Expand Amid Lower Costs And Higher Aluminium Prices

SHANGHAI, Jun 5 (SMM) – The average price of SMM prebaked anode dropped 306 yuan/mt in June. The average price of SMM alumina fell 17 yuan/mt last week. Coal prices hit a new low, reducing the power costs of aluminium smelters with captive power plants. But grid power prices have not yet been adjusted. Qinghai province began to implement new power transmission and distribution policy from June 1, which led to a slight rise in power tariffs. The average electricity price of aluminium smelters slid 0.01 yuan/kwh in from a week ago to 0.422 yuan/kwh as of last Friday. The real-time full costs of smelters dropped 307 yuan/mt week-on-week to 16,028 yuan/mt as of June 2, while SMM A00 aluminium prices rose to 18,570 yuan/mt, leaving their profits at 2,542 yuan/mt, expanding 716 yuan/mt from a week earlier. With alumina, coal and prebaked anode prices showing no signs of stabilising, aluminium costs will still have room to fall in the short term.