April aluminium liquid aluminium proportion increase below expectations, May expected to rise slightly

According to SMM statistics, China's aluminium production in April 2026 (30 days) was up 1.7 per cent Y-o-Y and down 2.9 per cent M-o-M.

As the traditional peak consumption season continued, downstream sectors such as plate/sheet, strip and foil, and aluminium wire and cable provided effective demand support. The proportion of liquid aluminium in China edged up, rising 1.7 percentage points M-o-M to 75.3 per cent. Overall performance was slightly below early-month expectations, with the core drag coming from weaker-than-expected aluminium extrusion orders. Based on SMM's proportion of liquid aluminium calculation data, China's aluminium casting ingot volume in April declined 3.4 per cent YoY and 9.0 per cent M-o-M.

Capacity changes: As of month-end April, SMM statistics showed China's existing aluminium capacity at approximately 46.209 million tonnes, with no M-o-M change.

Production forecast: Entering May 2026, the proportion of liquid aluminium production among China's aluminium enterprises is expected to diverge. Overall, as demand in markets outside China recovers, export orders for China's aluminium semis are expected to continue improving, supporting a slight rebound in the proportion of liquid aluminium. Overall, the proportion of liquid aluminium is expected to rise 0.5 percentage points to 75.8 per cent.

Note: This article has been issued by SMM and has been published by AL Circle with its original information without any modifications or edits to the core subject/data.