DAILY: China's spot alumina prices halt nearly two-month decline

Mysteel's assessment of the national average spot price for metallurgical-grade alumina with purity exceeding 98.6% remained unchanged from the prior day at Yuan 2,909/t ($409/t) on Thursday, ending a persistent downtrend since September 2.

The price stabilization came amid steady offers across China's five major alumina production hubs. The assessed alumina prices for the same grade in Shandong, Henan, Shanxi, and Guizhou provinces and in the Guangxi autonomous region all held firm within the range of Yuan 2,795–3,020/t, according to Mysteel's daily price assessment.

Most alumina producers and traders tabled firm offers for their alumina stocks in anticipation of a potential reduction in alumina supply in the near term following heavy air pollution alerts in Hebei and Henan this week, market watchers noted.

However, steady alumina offers curbed buying interest among primary aluminum smelters looking to replenish inventories. Other smelters already holding sufficient stocks also slowed their procurement, resulting in scarce spot trading. Mysteel heard of no deals being concluded yesterday.

In the derivatives market, alumina futures prices retreated, however. The most-traded January 2026 contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell by 1.05% to close Thursday's nighttime trading session at Yuan 2,819/t, after recording a 0.98% drop during daytime trading.

Written by Iris Pang, pangjunyu@mysteel.com