Aluminium sheet price, week 43/2026: SMM A00 rises to 23,670

In week 43/2026 (19 to 25 October), the Chinese aluminium ingot price recovered after the previous week's fall. In the last session of the week, Friday 23 October, the SMM A00 aluminium ingot price closed at 23,670 CNY/t, up 210 CNY/t (about 0.9%) from 16 October, the last session of week 42. The weekly high was 23,710 CNY/t, recorded on 22 October.

SMM A00 over the last seven sessions, LME 3-month and Vietcombank USD rate (compiled by H&D Steel)

Aluminium sheet price, week 43/2026: key figures

The SMM A00 price is the price of A00-grade aluminium ingot in warehouse in Shanghai or Wuxi and includes China's 13% value-added tax. The price of sheet and coil landed in Vietnam equals the ingot price plus rolling and processing fees (hot rolling, cold rolling, annealing, slitting), freight, import duty and financing costs. These add-ons move little with the ingot price, so sheet prices usually move later and by less than A00. Earlier weeks are collected in our weekly aluminium sheet price table.

SMM A00 over the last seven sessions

Week 42 ended at 23,460 CNY/t after touching a low of 23,260 CNY/t on 15 October. In week 43, A00 opened at 23,650 CNY/t on 19 October, slipped to 23,530 CNY/t on 20 October, then rose to 23,610 CNY/t (21 October) and 23,710 CNY/t (22 October). On 23 October it eased 40 CNY/t to 23,670 CNY/t. According to SMM, the ingot price gained a cumulative 450 CNY/t from the 15 October low to the 22 October high. Even so, the week 43 close is still 360 CNY/t below the pre-holiday session of 30 September (24,030 CNY/t).

The main support came from physical metal leaving warehouses. According to SMM, aluminium ingot stocks in China's main consumption areas stood at about 580,000 tonnes on 22 October and about 550,000 tonnes on 26 October. Stocks on 26 October were 30,000 tonnes lower than on Thursday 22 October and 54,000 tonnes lower than on Monday 19 October. Downstream buyers kept picking up metal steadily after the holiday. On the other side, the A00 spot premium cooled: 240–260 CNY/t on 23 October, down from 270–290 CNY/t on 16 October. SMM expects prices to keep moving sideways in the short term.

LME and exchange rate: two reference lines

On the London Metal Exchange (LME), three-month aluminium traded in a narrow range: 3,012 USD/t on 19 October, down to 2,997 USD/t on 20 October, up to 3,024.5 USD/t on 21 October, closing the week at 3,018 USD/t on 23 October, just 6 USD/t above 16 October. A00 rose more than LME, showing that last week's recovery came mainly from supply and demand inside China.

The exchange rate eased. On the morning of 26 October, Vietcombank quoted a USD selling rate of 26,030 VND, 70 VND below the 26,100 VND of the afternoon of 19 October. This offsets only a small part of the ingot price rise when converted into dong.

What this means for aluminium sheet and coil buyers

• Answering last week's three questions. The week 42 update listed three things to watch. A00 stayed above the 23,260 CNY/t low all week, with a weekly low of 23,530 CNY/t. Stocks on 22 October fell further, to about 580,000 tonnes. LME spent one session below 3,000 USD/t (20 October) but closed the week above that level.
• The short-term low looks behind us, but there is no clear uptrend yet. Prices recovered on falling stocks, while LME barely moved and the spot premium eased. Material needed in November is still best priced in two tranches rather than all at once.
• Ask which price point a quote uses. The gap between the lowest and highest sessions of week 43 was 180 CNY/t. When a supplier prices sheet on A00, ask which session they use and which A1050, A3003 or A5052 aluminium sheet grade and thickness the rolling fee covers.

See the previous week's update: aluminium sheet price, week 42/2026.

What to watch next week

In week 44/2026, watch three things: the outcome of the US Federal Reserve (Fed) meeting on 27–28 October and its effect on the dollar; whether the Thursday 29 October inventory data shows further draws; and whether A00 holds above 23,530 CNY/t, the lowest session of week 43.

References

• SMM: morning meeting 26/10 (A00 price 23/10, inventory, premium)
• SMM: analysis 23/10 (A00 from 15/10 to 22/10)
• SMM: aluminium ingot inventory, 26/10
• SMM: A00 spot prices on 19/10, 20/10, 21/10, 23/10; inventory 22/10; morning meetings 16/10 and 19/10; A00 price methodology
• Westmetall: LME aluminium settlements
• Webgia: Vietcombank exchange rates

Need a quote for aluminium sheet or coil at current prices? See our aluminium coil and slit strip page, or contact H&D Steel: hotline/Zalo 0904 678 236 (Sales Department). Please include alloy, thickness, width, temper and quantity so we can give you an accurate quote.