Primary Aluminum Market Posted Deficit Until October

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The world primary aluminum market recorded modest deficit during the initial ten-month period of 2019, says the latest Metals Balances Report published by the World Bureau of Metal Statistics (WBMS). The market witnessed a deficit of 298 kt during this period. The market had posted deficit of 667 kt in the whole year 2018.

The primary aluminum production has declined by 317 kt during Jan-Oct ’19. The total reported aluminum stock fell marginally by 5 kt during November 2017. The total LME stocks rose during the month. The combined stocks held in London, Shanghai, USA and Tokyo exchanges totalled 1.274 million tonnes at the end of October, significantly lower by 678 kt when matched with the end-2018 levels.

From January to October in 2019, the overall aluminum production recorded marginal decline by 0.6%. The Chinese production totaled 29.252 million t, accounting for nearly 57% of the global output. The production by the EU-28 and NAFTA regions edged higher slightly by 1.2% and 5% respectively, compared with the previous year

The primary aluminum output during the month totalled 5,197.6 kt, whereas the monthly consumption totalled 5,157.4 kt during the month.

According to WBMS, the global aluminum demand declined by 750 kt to total 51.92 million tonnes during Jan-Oct ‘19, when compared with the corresponding ten-month period in 2018. The Chinese apparent demand was modestly higher by 0.7% year-on-year. Also, EU-28 demand stood lower by 302 kt.