DAILY: China's spot alumina market stays weak

According to Mysteel's daily price assessment, the national average spot price for smelter-grade alumina with purity above 98.6% nudged down by another Yuan 2/tonne ($0.3/t) on day to Yuan 2,909/t on Wednesday.

By region, the assessed prices in both Guangxi and Guizhou in Southwest China fell by another Yuan 5/t on day to sit at Yuan 3,010/t and Yuan 3,020/t, respectively. Meanwhile, prices in East China's Shandong, Central China's Henan, and North China's Shanxi all held steady for the second consecutive day, averaging between Yuan 2,795/t and Yuan 2,865/t.

The slight declines in spot alumina prices in South China reflected that alumina sellers there could still accept lower transaction prices to ease their inventory pressure, market watchers pointed out. However, alumina producers and traders in other regions were reluctant to cut their offers, as sentiment in the spot alumina market improved a bit amid short-term production disruptions caused by heavy air pollution in parts of North China.

For instance, Tangshan city in Hebei province launched a level-two emergency response for severe air pollution on October 27, according to the local government's website. In response, a major alumina refiner in the city suspended operations and began a four-day maintenance on its two calciners the same day, cutting production by around 7,000 tonnes per day, market sources said.

Meanwhile, most primary aluminum smelters with restocking needs continued to push for lower alumina prices. The disagreement on prices between alumina sellers and buyers led to a standoff between the two sides. As a result, trading activity in the spot alumina market was limited, with Mysteel not hearing of any concluded transactions yesterday.

In contrast, the domestic alumina futures market gained ground yesterday. The most-traded January 2026 contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose by 1.41% during Wednesday's daytime trading session and extended its gains by another 0.7% by the end of nighttime trading, closing at Yuan 2,864/t as of 1 a.m. Thursday.

Written by Iris Pang, pangjunyu@mysteel.com