Shanghai aluminium prices fell 1.8 percent on Wednesday, declining for a second straight session as improving weather conditions smoothed the flow of ingots from China's remote northwestern Xinjiang region to the east of the country. Heavy snowfall in Xinjiang, a key aluminium smelting region, had disrupted transportation this month, leaving ingots stuck in transit. "Even so, the inventory on the market is still growing," said Xu Maili, director of non-ferrous metal reserarch at Everbright Futures in Shanghai.
Shanghai aluminium prices are already down 3.9 percent year -to-date, with deliverable Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE) aluminium stocks at a record 773,941 tonnes, as of January 12. The most-traded March contract on the ShFE closed down 1.8 pct at 14,630 yuan ($2,275) a tonne, its lowest finish since December 19. The most-traded ShFE copper contract slumped 1.9 percent down to 53,580 yuan a tonne, its lowest close since December 15, as traders locked in profits ahead of Lunar New Year. Shanghai nickel closed down 2.3 percent at 96,950 yuan a tonne for a fourth consecutive session of declines, tracking a more than 5 percent slide in London on Tuesday.