On the Eve of the "September Peak Season": Aluminum Billet Processing Fees Plunge Below the Cost Line, Foshan Market Weakly Consolidates at Lows [SMM Analysis]
[SMM Analysis: On the Eve of "September Peak Season": Aluminum Billet Processing Fees Plunge Below the Cost Line; Foshan Market Consolidates Weakly at Lows] As August drew to a close, looking back at China's aluminum billet market this month, "divergence" and "pressure" were the two most distinct key words. On one side was the strong, impressive performance of aluminum prices; on the other side was the continued slide in aluminum billet processing fees—the φ120 aluminum billet processing fee in Foshan fell steadily from 180 yuan/mt at end-July, briefly touched a record low of 30 yuan/mt in intraday trading on August 12, and was quoted at only 110 yuan/mt as of August 28, already clearly below the industry average production cost line. Social inventory of aluminum billet accumulated for four consecutive weeks to a stage high of 144,500 mt; spot trades cooled several times; suppliers' willingness to cash out and downstream wait-and-see sentiment repeatedly pulled back and forth; and market participants' fatigue grew by the day...
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![On the Eve of the "September Peak Season": Aluminum Billet Processing Fees Plunge Below the Cost Line, Foshan Market Weakly Consolidates at Lows [SMM Analysis]](https://imgqn.smm.cn/usercenter/tkWbz20251217171654.jpg)
