03 FEBRUARY 2016AlCircle.com
China's imported alumina demand to surpass 5 mln mt in 2016
Edited by : AL CIRCLE
1 min read
China’s appetite for imported alumina is to grow voracious in 2016. SMM expects, it will surpass 5 million mt in 2016 mainly due to two reasons. First, domestic supply of alumina will tighten following output cuts by some of the major Chinese alumina refiners; and second, sea freight charges are at multi-year lows. FOB price of West Australian alumina is just around USD 205/mt at present.
Such low price is still lucrative enough for the aluminium smelters that are located near ports. So, that will provide a reasonable traction to alumina imports.
In 2015, however, China imported 4.65 million mt of alumina, down 11.8 per cent year-on-year, and imports were 544,100 mt in December 2015, customs data showed. SMM in its earlier forecast had attributed this decline to the production cuts and capacity closures by the Chinese smelter owners, plummeting prices of alumina in the domestic market due to surge in supply, and depreciation of yuan vis-à-vis other major currencies.
Such low price is still lucrative enough for the aluminium smelters that are located near ports. So, that will provide a reasonable traction to alumina imports.
In 2015, however, China imported 4.65 million mt of alumina, down 11.8 per cent year-on-year, and imports were 544,100 mt in December 2015, customs data showed. SMM in its earlier forecast had attributed this decline to the production cuts and capacity closures by the Chinese smelter owners, plummeting prices of alumina in the domestic market due to surge in supply, and depreciation of yuan vis-à-vis other major currencies.
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