Mysteel's daily price assessment showed that the national average price for smelter-grade alumina with a minimum purity of 98.6% dropped to Yuan 2,740/tonne, down Yuan 4/tonne compared to the previous day.
The downward price trend can be attributed to the offering prices in three of China's five key alumina production regions. In Shandong and Henan, assessed prices for the same grade of alumina both declined by Yuan 5/t from the prior day, to Yuan 2,730/t, and Yuan 2,760/t, respectively. In Shanxi, assessed prices for the same grade also declined by Yuan 10/t to Yuan 2,760/t.
Additionally, prices in Guangxi and Guizhou stayed steady at Yuan 2,670/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 0.07% by the end of Wednesday's daytime trading but decreased by 0.45% overnight, closing the nighttime session at Yuan 2,672/t as of 1 a.m. Thursday, July 30, 2026.
According to Mysteel's research, an alumina refinery in Guangxi plans to commence maintenance on one of its calciners starting from the 8th of next month, with the process expected to take approximately 15 days and affecting an annual capacity of about 800,000 tonnes.
Recently, cross-regional cargo flows in the industry have increased significantly, intensifying market sales pressure. Bearish sentiment among raders has strengthened, driving spot prices slightly lower.
However, concerns that prices may fall to production costs, prompting alumina producers to proactively cut output, combined with Guinea's sudden introduction of regulatory policies related to bauxite, have intensified the bull-bear tug-of-war, leading to sustained cautiousness in the market.
In the short term, both futures and spot alumina prices are expected to fluctuate within a range, with the mainstream trading band projected at Yuan 2,650-2,750 per tonne.
