SMM Weekly Review of Aluminium Ingot and Billet Inventory

SHANGHAI, Jul 28 (SMM) – SMM aluminium ingot social inventory stood at 671,000 mt as of Thursday July 28, up 3,000 mt from last Thursday, and down 88,000 mt from the same period last year. The weekly inventory was stable as a whole, with different dynamics in different regions. The inventory in Gongyi dropped amid less arrivals due to delayed shipments from Xinjiang, but is likely to rise as most cargos are in transport. The inventory in Wuxi rose slightly as some local warehouses were supplemented. Transactions of spot aluminium were relatively poor with sluggish downstream demand, and the low inventory was mainly the result of low arrivals. The market shall watch the arrivals of cargos in transport at present.

Aluminium billet: SMM aluminium billet social inventory rose 12,200 mt from a week ago to 107,600 mt as of Thursday July 28. The inventory in Foshan rose significantly by 12,800 mt amid intensive arrivals of cargos shipped from Yunnan, and sluggish downstream demand also resulted in higher inventory. Huzhou saw a weekly increase of 3,000 mt as local demand remained poor. The inventory in Wuxi dropped in the past week, and is likely to accumulate next week as some cargos will arrive soon. Changzhou saw few changes. On the whole, the downstream is increasingly wait-and-see with rebounding aluminium prices, and the inventory is unlikely to fall in the near term.