China’s alumina spot price gains RMB14/t reaching RMB3026/t; Low-carbon aluminium price levitates by RMB153/t

The average alumina spot price has escalated by RMB 14 per tonne to close at RMB 3,026 per tonne. On December 15, the alumina spot price in China was 2,996 per tonne, which soared 1 per cent to reach what it is today. But if we look from October 25 to November 8, the aluminium price had stayed around RMB 3,009 to 3,010 per tonne. The lowest alumina price was marked from June 26 to 28, when it remained at RMB 2,813 per tonne.

The alumina price in Shanxi has gone up the graph by RMB 20 per tonne, closing at RMB 3,045 per tonne; in Henan, it grew by RMB 15 per tonne, halting at RMB 3,040 per tonne. In Shandong, Guizhou and Guangxi, the alumina spot prices have ascended by RMB 10 per tonne to anchor at RMB 2,970 per tonne, RMB 3,035 per tonne and RMB 3,025 per tonne.
Reason for sudden influx in alumina prices 
Alumina demand remained flat due to the range-bound operation rate from the downstream aluminium industry, while aluminium supply barely changed as some plants had not resumed production yet due to tight ore supply or unit maintenance. Transportation restrictions led to many suppliers raising their offers, but the buy-sell gap still widened, with some market players remaining sidelined. Bauxite ore prices reached a stalemate with sustained tight supply, while liquid caustic soda and port thermal coal prices both edged down amid tepid demand. On the inventory side, alumina inventory edged up on the supply side while it edged down on the demand side. Finally, sporadic deals stimulated a slight uptick in the market price.
The CIF Index of import Bauxite price has lost RMB 0.02 per tonne to close at RMB 70.04 per tonne.
The SMM aluminium price chart, on December 26, has seen accelerating price trends, with the SMM aluminium price augmenting by RMB 130 per tonne to arrive at RMB 19,200 per tonne. The average prices have hovered between RMB 19,180 per tonne and RMB 19,220 per tonne.
Analysing reasons for price growth 
The aluminium supply continued to grow with new capacity being produced in Inner Mongolia, while demand theoretically decreased due to production cuts in the aluminium plate industry, extreme cold and macro-policies affecting end-user demand. The cost of the industry theoretically increased due to flat trading prices of prebaked anode, higher domestic alumina market prices, and increasing electricity prices during the dry season. However, overall profits of the aluminium industry increased due to a spot price hike. LME aluminium inventory increased while China's social inventory of aluminium ingot continued falling. Aluminium supply is expected to stabilise as new capacity production in Inner Mongolia has been completed.
Eight Central Provinces in China 
China’s eight central provinces have all shown ascending aluminium prices, with the highest spike of RMB 170 per tonne recorded in Wuxi, where the price stood at RMB 19,220 per tonne, followed by RMB 150 per tonne addition in Foshan with the aluminium price stabilising at RMB 19,230 per tonne. In Linyi, the aluminium price has soared by RMB 140 per tonne to reach RMB 19,260 per tonne. The aluminium prices in Hangzhou, Shenyang and Tianjin have uniformly heightened by RMB 130 per tonne to close at RMB 19,200 per tonne each. In Gongyi, the aluminium price levitated by RMB 110 per tonne, settling at RMB 19,170 per tonne. Lastly, the aluminium price in Chongqing has inched up by RMB 80 per tonne to officiate at RMB 19,200 per tonne.
The low-carbon aluminium price in China has skyrocketed by RMB 153 per tonne to officially close at RMB 20,072 per tonne. On December 11, the low-carbon aluminium price was RMB 19,235 per tonne, which is the lowest in Q4 2023. From that, the price has constantly risen to reach RMB 19,811 per tonne on December 20, with a 2.99 per cent hike. In the last six days, the low-carbon aluminium price has grown by 1.32 per cent.
The high-purity aluminium (99.99%) and high-purity aluminium (99.996%) prices have both increased by 150 per tonne to stop at RMB 26,900 per tonne and RMB 27,900 per tonne.
The prices of aluminium alloy (A356), aluminium alloy (A360) and aluminium alloys (ADC12) have all gathered RMB 100 per tonne to close at RMB 19,850 per tonne, RMB 20,100 per tonne and RMB 20,100 per tonne.
China’s aluminium powder price has gained RMB 0.10 per kg to officially close at RMB 21.80 per kg, with the average prices ranging between RMB 21.70 per kg and RMB 21.90 per kg.