Mysteel's daily price assessment showed that the national average price for smelter-grade alumina with a minimum purity of 98.6% dropped to 2,750 Yuan/tonne, remaining stable compared to the previous day.
The steady price trend can be attributed to the offering prices in China's five key alumina production regions. In Shanxi, Shandong and Henan assessed prices for the same grade of alumina both kept stable from the prior day, to Yuan 2,780/t, Yuan 2,745/t and Yuan 2,770/t, respectively.
Additionally, prices in Guangxi and Guizhou stayed steady at Yuan 2,675/t and Yuan 2,780/t respectively.
In the derivatives market, alumina futures on the Shanghai Futures Exchange showed slight volatility. The most-traded alumina contract for September delivery edged up by 0.78% by the end of Tuesday's daytime trading and increased by 0.22% overnight, closing the nighttime session at Yuan 2,729/t as of 1 a.m. Wednesday, July 22, 2026.
Recent trading activity in China's domestic alumina spot market has remained subdued. Downstream aluminum smelters have primarily executed long-term contracts, while spot purchases were made strictly on a need-to-basis with efforts to further force down the prices, sustaining a stalemate between buyers and sellers.
Although recent volatility in international crude oil prices has notably affected dry bulk shipping costs and bauxite shipments from Guinea have declined seasonally, domestic port inventories of bauxite remain elevated and producers hold ample captive stocks.
As a result, short-term restocking appetite is weak, with buyers largely adopting a price-negotiation stance, keeping bauxite prices temporarily stable. Consequently, the cost side currently offers limited upward support to alumina prices.
In the near term, domestic alumina spot prices are expected to remain under pressure, trending weakly within a consolidation range of Yuan 2,600–2,750/tonne.
