DAILY: Chinese spot alumina prices edge lower

Mysteel assessed the national average spot price for metallurgical-grade alumina with a purity above 98.6% at Yuan 2,828/tonne ($400/t) including the 13% VAT last Friday, down by Yuan 17/t from the previous day. The price has now fallen to its lowest level since July 17, 2023, Mysteel Global noted.

The decline in spot prices was largely a result of discounted offers from alumina sellers across China's five major alumina-producing bases. By region, Mysteel's assessed prices for the same grade of alumina in Henan province and the Guangxi autonomous region lower by Yuan 20/t on day at Yuan 2,825/t and Yuan 2,870/t respectively, while those in Shandong, Shanxi, and Guizhou provinces had slipped by Yuan 15/t from Thursday, averaging between Yuan 2,740/t and Yuan 2,890/t.

At the end of last week, though some alumina producers and traders continued to clip their offers to accelerate sales, most primary aluminum smelters refrained from concluding deals, having already purchased sufficient feedstocks earlier in the week. As a result, trading activity in the spot market was muted, with Mysteel not hearing of any finalized deals.

In contrast, domestic alumina futures rebounded modestly overnight after losses recorded during the daytime session. The most-traded January 2026 contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange edged up by 0.03% to close last Friday's nighttime session at Yuan 2,580/t as of 1 a.m. last Saturday, recovering from the 2.48% decrease recorded during Friday's daytime trading.

Written by Iris Pang, pangjunyu@mysteel.com