China's Aluminum Ingot Inventory Declines, Expectations of Continued Destocking

According to SMM statistics, as of May 22, the inventory of aluminum ingots in China's major consuming regions stood at 557,000 mt, a decrease of 28,000 mt compared to this Monday and a decrease of 24,000 mt WoW from last Thursday. Despite a slight inventory buildup at the beginning of the week, destocking mid-week exceeded expectations due to the still relatively low volume of aluminum ingots in transit over the past week, approaching the 550,000 mt mark.

SMM believes that due to the overall smooth transportation in China in May, coupled with the expectation of weaker outflows from warehouses during the off-season, the circulation of aluminum ingots in China's major consuming regions may gradually ease from late May to early June. However, the volume of aluminum ingots in transit in China over the past two weeks remains relatively low, and there is an expectation of continued destocking next week. Whether the actual inventory performance will deviate from expectations in the subsequent period may become a critical phase in the next two weeks.