Aluminium billet inventories fell 34,700 mt on week

SHANGHAI, Mar 25 (SMM) – The outbound quantity of aluminium billet decreased 5,100 mt to 65,800 mt last week, which was mainly due to the fluctuation of aluminium prices at high and the tepid downstream restocking.

SMM data showed that aluminium billet stocks across the five major consumption areas — Foshan, Wuxi, Huzhou, Changzhou and Nanchang — in China decreased 34,700 mt from a week ago to 198,200 mt as of Thursday March 25.

Affected by the lower aluminium prices in the previous two days, there was centralized restocking in the downstream, and the outbound quantity surged, leading to a large short-term decline in aluminium billet inventories.

Inventories in Foshan, Wuxi and Huzhou fell sharply by 10,300 mt, 10,000 mt and 9,000 mt respectively, while inventories in Changzhou and Nanchang decreased slightly by 2,400 mt and 3,000 mt respectively.

The large decline of aluminium prices in the previous two days was in line with the psychological prices of downstream, while some downstream purchasing demand was consumed in advance despite improved restocking. If there is no obvious weakness in aluminium price next week, the downstream will still restock mainly for rigid demand. It is estimated that aluminium billet inventories will remain stable next week.