Nonferrous Scrap, China, Asia

The spot price of domestic aluminum ranged in the 16,490 to 16,670 per ton range in April. Early month trading was in the doldrums. Better external markets drove domestic aluminum prices to rise, but prices continued because of weak demand downstream and trading was flat

Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) aluminum was not driven upward by gains in markets around the spot aluminum ingot prices that remained stable. Trading levels were a bit dull and downstream aluminum factory purchases remained relatively cautious. The tightening of monetary policy will inevitably cause tensions in market funds while suppressing the development of aluminum.

In April, the spot zinc market was overall in decline, Zinc inventories are still maintaining a surplus state. Holders showed strong intentions to sell but buyers demonstrate limited demand, especially when the prices go higher.

In early April, nickel prices rose strongly, approaching a high of $28,000 per ton. However, demand for stainless steel scrap has not significantly improved. Steel mills have slowed the pace of procurement of scrap. Thus, the current stainless steel scrap market is facing the pressure of shrinking demand and prices may remain down at the bottom.

In addition, the domestic monetary policy tightening will lead to most of the small and medium-sized enterprises to face bottlenecks in the procurement of raw materials for steel mills, which makes most traders bearish on the short-term market outlook.