Aluminum Inventory: Pre-Holiday Stockpiling Accelerates Destocking, Post-Holiday Inventory Buildup Risk Still Requires Vigilance [SMM Analysis]
Driven mainly by pre-holiday restocking demand, and with the slower pace of arrivals since the second half of April, coupled with the temporary end of disruptions from imported supplies, the destocking of domestic aluminum ingot inventory accelerated again by the end of April, approaching the 600,000 mt mark, providing a certain degree of upward support for aluminum prices before the holiday. According to SMM statistics, as of April 30, the inventory of aluminum ingots at major domestic consumption hubs stood at 614,000 mt, down 29,000 mt from Monday this week, with a destocking of 44,000 mt WoW from Thursday, and a decrease of 177,000 mt YoY, remaining at a relatively low level compared to the same period in the past three years. In terms of outflows from warehouses...