The non-ferrous metals market has been quite interesting this week. Aluminum oxide is under significant pressure—capacity remains high, with weekly metallurgical-grade aluminum oxide capacity reaching 88.085 million tons/year, and the operating rate staying stable at 79.85%. The problem is that inventories continue to accumulate, leading to little support for spot prices, which fell by 2.36% this week to 2,685 yuan/ton. In the short term, the oversupply situation is likely to persist, and we need to closely monitor the subsequent developments in capacity, costs, and profit margins.

In contrast, aluminum prices are showing a completely different picture. Shanghai aluminum prices increased nicely this week, rising by 1.57% to 22,400 yuan/ton. The gross profit of electrolytic aluminum increased by 5.70% week-on-week to 6,402 yuan/ton. Amid the overall rise in non-ferrous and precious metal prices, aluminum prices remain firmly at high levels. Although inventories have slightly accumulated—LME aluminum inventory is 521,100 tons, up 0.28% week-on-week; Shanghai aluminum inventory is 128,500 tons, up 6.64% week-on-week; and domestic spot inventory is 597,000 tons, remaining stable—this has not dampened the upward momentum of aluminum prices. We will continue to observe how long this pattern can be maintained.