China’s aluminium ingot inventories fall 18,000 tonnes W-o-W, led by below-estimated stocking

China’s social inventories of primary aluminium across eight major consumption areas, including SHFE warrant, recorded a fall of 18,000 tonnes week-on-week to stand at 835,000 tonnes as of Thursday, May 4, found the Shanghai Metals Market data. On a year-on-year calculation, aluminium ingot inventories on May 4 registered a downfall of 197,000 tonnes.

According to market players and warehouse operators, the main reason for the destocking was lower arrivals. Pre-holiday stocking was below expectations in many regions of China. Wuxi led the overall decline, also contributed by Hangzhou, Gongyi, and Linyi.

To know the current status of China’s primary aluminium inventories in more detail, refer to the chart below:

In Wuxi, primary aluminium inventories plunged by 24,000 tonnes this week to settle at 243,000 tonnes as of Thursday, May 4, followed by a decline of 4,000 tonnes in Hangzhou to 58,000 tonnes. In Gongyi and Linyi, aluminium ingot inventories fell by 2,000 tonnes to peg at 181,000 tonnes and 26,000 tonnes.

Meanwhile, the inventories in Nanhai gained 11,000 tonnes compared to the previous week to stand at 186,000 tonnes, and that in Shanghai inched up by 1,000 tonnes to 56,000 tonnes. On the other hand, Inventories in Tianjin remained restrained at 71,000 tonnes.