DAILY: Chinese spot alumina prices inch higher, futures retreat

Mysteel's daily price assessment showed that the national average spot price for smelter-grade alumina with a purity above 98.6% edged up by Yuan 2/tonne ($0.3/t) from Tuesday to Yuan 2,671/t including 13% VAT on Wednesday. The uptick was chiefly supported by firmer quotations in the country's southern markets.

Among China's five key alumina-producing areas, the assessed prices for the same grade material in the Guangxi autonomous region and Guizhou province rose by Yuan 5/t day on day to Yuan 2,695/t and Yuan 2,745/t, respectively. In contrast, prices in Shandong, Henan, and Shanxi provinces remained stable within a range of Yuan 2,605-2,660/t.

In the futures market, domestic alumina contracts weakened following two consecutive days of gains. The most-traded May alumina contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell by 0.47% in Wednesday's daytime trading and lost a further 1.04% during the nighttime session, ending at Yuan 2,766/t as of 1 a.m. Thursday.

In the physical market, some primary aluminum smelters made routine purchases to replenish feedstock inventories, while alumina producers and traders maintained firm offering prices, according to market participants. Amid the current limited availability of spot alumina, buyers with urgent restocking needs were willing to accept slightly higher quotations.

Mysteel heard of one deal concluded on March 4 in Gansu province, where a smelter purchased 10,000 tonnes of spot alumina via tender from a trader at a delivered price of Yuan 2,930/t including freight costs and VAT.

Written by Iris Pang, pangjunyu@mysteel.com