
The price of A00 ingot in China is continuing its recovery after the fall through November and December. Average A00 ingot price has increased further to stand at RMB 14,310/t on December 20 from RMB 14,180/t on December 19. As updated by Shanghai Metals Market, the primary ingot prices registered some increase in the domestic markets too. The price is expected to range within RMB 14290 – 14,330 per tonne.

According to an update from Reuters, Ministry of Environmental Protection found five aluminium and steel producers had not limited or closed output to comply with the winter emissions cuts directives running from November 2017 to March 2018.
Taiyuan East Aluminum which has refined aluminium output capacity of 100,000 tpy and aluminium rod production capacity of 50,000 tpy, with plans to build one 600,000 tpy high precision aluminium products plant has only closed 14 furnaces out of the 44 furnaces it was supposed to close.
To tackle unlicensed emissions, the ministry will carry out spot checks up to January 2018, as well as assess producers' output cuts, by checking their power usage data through the power departments, the ministry added.
According to government report, Shandong Province will cut over 30% of its aluminium output and trim 30% of its alumina producers' output. Assessment of aluminium producers' emission licenses will be done before the end of December 2017 and those failing to meet the capacity cut requirement will be asked to shut down.
The positive trend in A00 Aluminum prices have continued in all other individual markets in China. Average price of A00 ingot is trending the highest in the South China market at RMB 14,360/t. The below table shows the price increase in the other major Chinese markets:

As for the major raw materials are concerned, as updated by Shanghai Metals Market, average spot alumina price in China has dropped further from RMB 2918 per tonne on December 19 to RMB 2886 per tonne on December 20. Other raw materials like bauxite and prebaked anode remained unchanged.
State run metals consultancy Beijing Antaike forecasted China's aluminium production growth to slow down in 2018, with an output of 38 million tonnes next year, up just 5.6%. It projected that China will close the year 2017 with an aluminium output of 36 million tonnes, up 10.3%.
Responses







