The world's largest aluminium producer, China's use of liquid metal transfers slowed in June and July 2024 but picked up again in August.
Following a strong period in the previous three months, the use of liquid metal transfers as a means of moving metal into the market dropped by around 2 per cent in June and by about the same amount in July. It's a normal process. Liquid metal makes the most sense in a busy market - the smelter can deliver metal straight into the customer's holding furnace. In a quieter market, such as the early part of this northern summer, extrusion plants and other customers opted to idle their machinery in the face of reduced orders. The smelters were forced to pour the metal into ingot form.
Now it's a good sign that things are picking up again. Liquid metal transfers have lifted by about 2 per cent so far in August. We are about to head into the next golden period for aluminium consumption, and as we reported last week, some good early indicators are building up.
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