Futures: In the night session, the most-traded alumina 2509 contract opened at RMB 2,883 per tonne, with a high of RMB 2,895 per tonne, a low of RMB 2,852 per tonne, and closed at RMB 2,871 per tonne, down RMB 13 per tonne, a decrease of 0.45 per cent, with an open interest of 147,000 lots.
Image for referential purposes only (Source: Britanica)
Ore: As of April 17, the SMM imported bauxite index stood at USD 88.71 per tonne, up USD 0.01 per tonne from the previous trading day, mainly due to a slight rebound in caustic soda prices. The SMM Guinea bauxite CIF average was USD 88 per tonne, unchanged from the previous trading day. The SMM Australia low-temperature bauxite CIF average was USD 87 per tonne, unchanged from the previous trading day. The SMM Australia high-temperature bauxite CIF average was USD 81 per tonne, unchanged from the previous trading day.
Industry News:
(1) On April 15, 30,000 tonnes of alumina was traded overseas at a transaction price of USD 347.5 per tonne FOB Bunbury/Kwinana or FOB Gladstone, at the seller's option, with a June shipment.
(2) Alumina port inventory: According to SMM statistics on April 17, domestic port alumina inventory totalled 34,700 tonnes, an increase of 7,200 tonnes from the previous week.
(3) According to overseas media reports, international mining giant Rio Tinto and energy transition solutions provider AMG Metals & Materials (AMG M&M) signed a memorandum of cooperation on April 16 to jointly assess the technical feasibility of developing an integrated low-carbon aluminium project in India. According to the agreement, they will focus on studying the construction of an aluminium smelter with an annual capacity of 1 million tonnes of primary aluminium and supporting alumina production facilities with an annual capacity of 2 million mt. All production processes will be powered by renewable energy such as wind and solar integrated through a pumped storage system. The project is planned to be implemented in phases, with the first phase being the construction of a demonstration aluminium smelter with an annual capacity of 500,000 tonnes.
Spot-Futures Price Spread Report: According to SMM data, on April 17, the SMM alumina index was at a premium of 28 yuan/mt against the latest transaction price of the most-traded contract at 11:30.
Warrant Report: On April 17, the total registered alumina warrants decreased by 903 tonnes to 294,300 tonnes compared to the previous trading day. The total registered alumina warrants in Shandong remained unchanged at 3,307 tonnes compared to the previous trading day. The total registered alumina warrants in Henan decreased by 301 tonnes to 11,700 tonnes compared to the previous trading day. The total registered alumina warrants in Guangxi remained unchanged at 43,200 tonnes compared to the previous trading day. The total registered alumina warrants in Gansu decreased by 602 tonnes to 16,500 tonnes compared to the previous trading day. The total registered alumina warrants in Xinjiang remained unchanged at 219,500 tonnes compared to the previous trading day.
Overseas Market: As of April 17, 2025, the FOB Western Australia alumina price was USD 348 per tonne, the ocean freight rate was USD 20.55 per tonne, and the USD/CNY exchange rate selling price was around 7.32. This price translates to a domestic mainstream port selling price of approximately RMB 3,130 per tonne, which is RMB 260.39 per tonne higher than the domestic alumina price, and the alumina import window remains closed.
Due to the concentrated maintenance of alumina refineries in April, the operating capacity of alumina has continued to decline. This week, the operating capacity of alumina dropped to 82.88 million tonnes per annum, and alumina supply tightened in the short term.
This week, the decline in alumina prices slowed, and alumina prices in the north rebounded slightly. However, as maintenance gradually ends and new capacities are put into operation, the operating capacity of alumina is expected to rebound, and the expectation of loose alumina supply remains. In the short term, alumina prices may enter a phase of volatile adjustment.
Note: This article has been issued by SMM and has been published by AL Circle with its original information without any modifications or edits to the core subject/data.
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