Asian Metal News
7th November: Mainstream domestic alumina prices dropped slightly by RMB 10/t from last Friday to RMB 2,560~2,610/t ex-works. Most downstream buyers remain watchful, with limited transitions in the spot market last week. The domestic alumina market is projected to continue weak performance next week with few transactions.
One northern refinery currently is offering sales at RMB 2,600/t ex-works, down RMB 30/t from early last week, however no quotation requests have been received so far. The refinery sold 5 kt of alumina at RMB 2,600/t at the end of October. According to an internal source, most smelters are holding long-term contracts to guarantee sufficient supply, making spot sales more difficult. Meanwhile, most traders are seeking back to back orders, leading to a lackluster market. The source believed that domestic alumina prices would fall by RMB 10/t further next week.
Designed with alumina capacity of 1.3 mtpy, the company produced 90 kt of alumina in October, down 10 kt m-o-m. Targeting 1.2 mln t of alumina output for 2019, the company has produced 1 mln t of alumina so far and holds no stocks.
