Aluminium billet inventories in China surge by 6,000 tonnes W-o-W across 4 major consumption areas

On Thursday, December 1, aluminium billet inventories in China increased to 69,000 tonnes, up by 6,000 tonnes from a week ago. The hike was witnessed in all the major consumption areas except Changzhou. Since late October, there had been a sporadic accumulation of aluminium billet inventory; nevertheless, the growth was modest, and the overall inventory was still hanging around 70,000 tonnes, which is significantly less than it was at the same time of the previous two years.

The figure below provides further information on the current state of aluminium billet inventories in China:

A different level of inventory buildup was seen in all the key markets, with a rise of 4,300 tonnes in Foshan, where downstream consumption was subdued. Since demand in Wuxi, Changzhou, and Huzhou was somewhat higher than in south China, local inventories only marginally increased.

On the same day, Huzhou and Wuxi recorded a growth of 1000 tonnes and 500 tonnes to score 7,000 tonnes and 8,900 tonnes. As per the data, in Nanchang, the inventory went up by 200 tonnes to close at 4,400 tonnes. Only in Changzhou, the inventory showed no change to settle at 4,300 tonnes.