DAILY: Chinese spot alumina prices stabilize, futures strengthen

Mysteel's assessment of the national average spot price for metallurgical-grade alumina with a purity exceeding 98.6% was unchanged on day at Yuan 2,867/tonne ($403/t) including the 13% VAT on Thursday, ending a downtrend for nine consecutive working days.

The price stabilization yesterday was supported by firmer sentiment among alumina sellers across China's five major alumina-producing regions. Price assessments in Shandong, Henan, Shanxi, and Guizhou provinces and in the Guangxi autonomous region all held steady from the prior day, ranging between Yuan 2,780/t and Yuan 2,945/t.

Earlier declines in spot prices drove several alumina producers to the verge of losses, which increased the likelihood of production cuts ahead. Anticipating this shift, some refiners and traders became less inclined to sell off their alumina inventories quickly and maintained firm price offers instead.

On the demand side, many primary aluminum smelters, having secured adequate feedstock inventories at lower prices, showed little urgency to restock. As a result, the spot alumina market experienced a brief standstill on Thursday, with trading activity muted. Mysteel did not hear of any concluded deals.

Meanwhile, major alumina futures in Shanghai strengthened. The most-traded January 2026 contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 0.6% during Thursday's daytime session and gained a further 0.11% when nighttime trading ended, closing at Yuan 2,834/t as of 1 a.m. Friday.

Written by Iris Pang, pangjunyu@mysteel.com