DAILY: Chinese spot alumina prices dip further, futures recover

The national average spot price assessed by Mysteel for metallurgical-grade alumina with a purity exceeding 98.6% inched down by another Yuan 3/tonne ($0.4/t) from last Friday to sit at Yuan 2,853/t including the 13% VAT on Monday, according to Mysteel's daily price assessment. The decline was largely the result of price weakness in three of China's five key alumina-producing regions, market watchers noted.

On Monday, the assessed prices for the same grade of alumina in Shandong and Guizhou provinces and in the Guangxi autonomous region dropped by Yuan 5/t from Friday to range from Yuan 2,770/t to Yuan 2,915/t, while those in Shanxi and Henan provinces stayed flat at Yuan 2,835/t and Yuan 2,850/t respectively.

In the physical market, some alumina refiners and traders tended to offer discounts to attract buys due to their mounting inventories and sales pressure. At the same time, primary aluminum smelters with restocking needs continued to procure lower-priced feedstocks amid weak fundamentals. This alignment between sellers looking to reduce stockpiles and buyers seeking discounts facilitated market trading while adding further downward pressure on spot alumina prices.

Mysteel heard of one concluded deal on November 24 in the Xinjiang autonomous region where a smelter purchased 10,000 tonnes of spot alumina at a delivered price of Yuan 3,120-3,130/t including freight and VAT. The material was sourced from North China, and the transaction price was Yuan 10/t lower than a similar deal done on November 17, according to market sources.

Meanwhile, major alumina futures in Shanghai rebounded slightly yesterday. The most-traded January 2026 contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 0.11% by the close of Monday's daytime session and gained an additional 0.07% during nighttime trading, ending at Yuan 2,733/t as of 1 a.m. Tuesday. 

Written by Iris Pang, pangjunyu@mysteel.com