According to the US Census Bureau data, the United States' domestic primary aluminium production showed no change in November 2023 from the previous month, remaining at 61,000 tonnes. However, on a year-on-year basis, the output experienced a 1,000 tonnes fall from 62,000 tonnes.
Detailed evaluation of the output
In eleven months of 2023, the United States' primary aluminium production amounted to 686,000 tonnes, of which 378,000 tonnes was produced in the first half of the year. In the second half of the year till November, the output totalled 308,000 tonnes, meaning the United States' primary aluminium production trended down in H2 2023. Overall, the United States' Y-T-D production lags behind 175,000 tonnes of the previous year's total output of 861,000 tonnes.
The United States' average daily production in November 2023 was 2,040 tonnes, up 3 per cent from 1,980 tonnes in October. Despite the hike in daily average output, the United States' monthly production stood restrained in November.
Recovery from scrap
The total aluminium recovered from scrap in November 2023 was 269,000 tonnes, 6 per cent less than the 287,000 tonnes recovered in October. Of this, 148,000 tonnes of aluminium was recovered from new scrap and 121,000 tonnes from old scrap.
Price and stocks
The November 2023 average US spot market price of primary aluminium ingot was $1.19 per pound, unchanged from that in October 2023 but 6 per cent less than in November 2022. The average cash price in November 2023 of primary aluminium ingot on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was $1 per pound, unchanged from that in October 2023 but 6 per cent less than a year earlier.
Inventories of primary aluminium in LME-approved warehouses, including off-warrant inventories, in the United States were 3,398 tonnes at the end of November 2023, reflecting a sharp month-on-month fall of 66 per cent. Inventories of secondary aluminium (North American Secondary Aluminum Alloy Contract) in LME-approved warehouses, including off-warrant inventories, in the United States were 679 tonnes in November-end – 10 per cent more than at the end of October 2023.
Responses
