Primary Aluminum Market Ended in Surplus: WBMS

The market witnessed a surplus of 684 kt during this per iod. The market had posted deficit of 492 kt in the whole year 2019.

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The world primary aluminum market recorded modest surplus during the initial two-month period of 2020, says the latest Metals Balances Report published by the World Bureau of Metal Statistics (WBMS). The market witnessed a surplus of 684 kt during this period. The market had posted deficit of 492 kt in the whole year 2019.

The total reported aluminum stock fell by 159 kt during February this year. The total LME stocks declined during both the months, especially in Asian warehouses. The combined stocks held in London, Shanghai, USA and Tokyo exchanges totalled 1.531 million tonnes at the end of February, significantly lower by 144 kt when matched with the end-2019 levels.

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From January to February in 2020, the overall aluminum production surged higher by 8.3% compared with the initial two months of 2019. The Chinese production totalled 6.062 million t, accounting for nearly 55% of the global output. The production by the EU-28 and NAFTA regions edged higher slightly by 0.9% and 3.5% respectively, compared with the previous year

The primary aluminum output during the month totalled 5,539.2 kt, whereas the monthly consumption totalled 5,143.6 kt during the month.

According to WBMS, the global aluminum demand increased marginally by 441 kt to total 10.40 million tonnes during Jan-Feb ‘20, when compared with the corresponding two months in 2019. The Chinese apparent demand was modestly higher by 6.2% year-on-year. Also, EU-28 demand stood lower by 178 kt from the comparable period in 2019.

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