DAILY: Chinese alumina prices soften further in spot, futures markets

The national average spot price for metallurgical-grade alumina with a purity above 98.6% dipped by Yuan 4/tonne ($0.6/t) on day to Yuan 2,720/t including the 13% VAT on Thursday, according to Mysteel's daily price assessment.

Regionally, Mysteel's assessed prices in Shandong, Henan, and Shanxi provinces and in the Guangxi autonomous region all slid by Yuan 5/t from the prior day, averaging between Yuan 2,630/t and Yuan 2,760/t. In contrast, the price in Guizhou province remained unchanged on day at Yuan 2,805/t.

The same day, alumina derivatives in Shanghai also lost ground. The most-traded May 2026 alumina contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange dropped by 0.71% during daytime trading and lost another 0.38% overnight, finally closing at Yuan 2,635/t as of 1 a.m. on Friday.

Overall trading sentiment for alumina remained bearish amid soft supply-demand fundamentals, market watchers noted. In the physical market, some downstream alumina buyers carried out routine restocking through tenders to seek lower-priced cargoes, and several alumina sellers chose to cut offers to facilitate sales, adding further downward pressure on spot alumina prices.

On December 25, Mysteel heard of one deal finazlied in Gansu province, where a primary aluminum smelter purchased 10,000 tonnes of North China-origin spot alumina via tender at a delivered price of Yuan 2,790/t including freight and VAT.

Written by Iris Pang, pangjunyu@mysteel.com