SHANGHAI, Jan 12 (SMM) - According to SMM research, the Chinese New Year holiday of remelted aluminium billet producers will start in two phases. First, some producers already took holidays in advance before the New Year's Day because of poor orders in the off-season and high aluminium prices that were reflected in sluggish downstream demand and high purchasing costs. Second, other producers were closed for holiday starting sometime between January 1-10.
In general, there were many negative factors weighing on the operating rates of remelted aluminium billet companies, including frequent fluctuations in aluminium prices, the widespread covid-19 pandemic, and falling orders from aluminium extrusion companies in the traditional off-season. Therefore, the raw materials that most companies stocked would sustain them for about a week. The finished product inventories were even lower. It is common for companies to take holidays early at the end of the year to avoid any sudden event, and they are expected to resume production around January 30 and 31.