WBMS Metal Balances: Primary Aluminum Market Ended in Significant Surplus

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The January to August 2020 Metals Balances Report published by the World Bureau of Metal Statistics (WBMS) suggests that primary aluminium market ended in notable surplus of 1,537 kt. This follows a surplus of 500 kt recorded for the entire year 2019.

The production during the initial eight-month period of the year rose by 3.81% upon comparison with the similar period a year before. The Chinese output, at 24,283 kt, accounted for almost 55% of the global aluminium production. The NAFTA output rose by 4.5%, whereas the EU output edged higher marginally by 0.5% than the previous year.

The demand stood higher by 203 kt from the comparable period in 2019 to around 42.79 million tonnes. The Chinese apparent demand surged higher by 8.9% than in January to August in 2019. On the contrary, the EU-28 demand edged lower by 934 kt when compared with the corresponding eight-month period in 2019.

The total reported stocks of the metal declined in August to close the month at 251 kt above the end-2019 levels. The Shanghai stocks rose in the second quarter and closed in the end of August at 251 kt. Meantime, the LME stocks increased marginally to close at 1,550.2 kt, compared with 1,473 kt at the end of the previous year.

In August this year, primary aluminium production totalled 5,763.50 kt, whereas the demand totalled 5,461.40 kt.