SMM Aluminium Morning Comment (Mar 23, 2023)

SHANGHAI, Mar 23 (SMM) - Overnight, the most-traded SHFE 2305 aluminium contract opened at 18,210 yuan/mt, with its lowest and highest at 18,170 yuan/mt and 18,280 yuan/mt before closing at 18,260 yuan/mt, up 110 yuan/mt or 0.61%.

LME aluminium opened at $2,275/mt on Wednesday, with its high and low at $2,285/mt and $2,261/mt respectively before closing at $2,285/mt, an increase of $15.5/mt or 0.68%.

On the macro level, the 25 basis point rate hike by the Federal Reserve was in line with market expectations, but there is no expectation for interest rate cut within the year, thus the macro boost was not strong. On the fundamentals, the domestic supply side has recovered slightly. The improvement in downstream consumption has driven the rapid destocking of aluminium ingot stocks. The fundamentals are well supported, and the short-term aluminium prices are likely to fluctuate rangebound.