China’s production of primary aluminium dips in January

According to Shanghai Metals Market, China’s total primary aluminium production came in at some 2.97 million tonnes last month. Production in January decreased by 0.5 per cent from January 2018, and dropped 0.7 per cent from December 2018.

Domestic primary aluminium capacity under operation stood at an annualised 34.96 million tonnes by the end of January, down 270,000 tonnes per year from December.  Despite new capacity in Inner Mongolia’s Chuangyuan and Guyang smelters, capacity cuts at Shaanxi Hengkang, Shandong Huayu, Shanxi Huasheng, and Shanxi Huaze continued to lower operating capacity in January 2019. 

Output of aluminium is expected to stand at 2.7 million tonnes in February, a decrease of 1.1 per cent from a year earlier. By the end of February, domestic primary aluminium capacity under operation is estimated at an annualised 35.14 million tonnes. 

In 2018, the total aluminium production stood at 35.8 million tonnes up 7.4 per cent from the previous annual record in 2017, according to data published by the country’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).