The most-traded SHFE aluminium contract increased in positions and rose overnight, with short-term import losses widening

Futures Market: Overnight, the most-traded AD2511 cast aluminium alloy futures contract opened at RMB 19,820 per tonne, reaching a high of RMB 19,960 per tonne and a low of RMB 19,780 per tonne, before closing at RMB 19,945 per tonne, up RMB 115 per tonne or 0.58 per cent from the previous trading day. Trading volume stood at 1,930 lots, with open interest at 8,658 lots, primarily driven by longs increasing their positions.  

Spot-Futures Price Spread Daily Report: According to SMM data, on July 9, the theoretical premium of SMM ADC12 spot price over the closing price of the most-traded cast aluminium alloy futures contract (AD2511) at 10:15 a.m. narrowed to RMB 130 per tonne.

Industry Updates: (1) As announced by SHFE, as of the close on July 9, the cast aluminium alloy futures had been trading for 22 consecutive trading days, with a cumulative trading volume of 205,700 lots and open interest of 10,200 lots after the close on that day, equivalent to a spot cargo scale of 102,000 mt, accounting for approximately 27 per cent of the domestic monthly consumption of cast aluminium alloy. The cast aluminium alloy options had a cumulative trading volume of 41,500 lots and open interest of 6,000 lots after the close on that day. Moving forward, SHFE will continue to intensify market cultivation efforts, persistently carry out market promotion and training activities, facilitate the functioning of the market, and ensure the smooth first delivery of cast aluminium alloy futures. Meanwhile, SHFE will closely monitor market operations and optimise the rules for cast aluminium alloy futures in a timely manner based on feedback from all market participants, striving to meet the risk management needs of the aluminium industry and better serve and lead the development of the real economy. (2) On July 9, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology launched an “Online Window for Reporting Issues Related to Key Automakers’ Compliance with Payment Cycle Commitments,” accepting reports from small and medium-sized enterprises regarding key automakers’ failure to comply with payment cycle commitments and inadequate implementation of the “Regulation on Ensuring Payments to Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises.”