NBS reports 2.7% MoM drop in China's alumina output in October; YTD output still up 3.9%

According to the latest data released by China’s National Bureau of Statistics, China’s production of alumina in October dropped by 2.7% month on month to 5.65 million tonnes. The total alumina output in the first ten months of 2018 now stands at 56.58 million tonnes. However, YTD alumina output still up 3.9% year on year. Shanghai Metals Market updated in the beginning of November that alumina production in China increased 0.3 per cent year on year to about 6 million tonnes in October 2018. The average daily production stood at 195,000 tonnes, down 1.7 per cent from September. However, NBS confirmed that the actual production rate dropped in the month of October.

The fall in output is attributed to the on-month decline to feeble demand from aluminium smelters. This was further affected by a weeklong National Day holiday break during October 1-7. It was said that some aluminium smelters in North China’s Shanxi province and Central China’s Henan province had cut production due to lower profits.

The National Bureau of Statistics on Monday also reported that alumina production in China's Shandong province increased 39.7% year on year to 1.74 million tonnes.  Shandong's October output was, however, down 5.2% month on month.

Shandong, the top producing province for alumina in China and the other four major producers Shanxi, Henan, Guangxi and Guizhou reported a combined output of 5.53 million tonnes, about 97.9% of China's total output of 5.65 million tonnes for the month.

For the first ten months of 2018, Shandong produced 17.84 million tonnes of alumina, down 6% in comparison with the same period of 2017. The combined output of the five major alumina producing provinces was 54.57 million tonnes comprising 96.4% of China's total output of 56.58 million tonnes for the first 10 months.