WEEKLY: China's weekly alumina output hits highest level again in over 1.5 years

This marked the fifth consecutive on-week increase in output and once again resulted in the highest weekly production total since Mysteel launched the weekly production survey in January 2024, Mysteel Global noted.

The rise in last week's output was primarily attributed to the restart of production lines at two alumina refineries, one in North China's Shanxi province and the other in Southwest China's Guangxi autonomous region, market sources said.

Early last week, a Shanxi-based refiner resumed operations on a 700,000 tonnes/year production line, while a Guangxi-based producer restarted a 500,000 t/y line after completing a 20-day maintenance stoppage.

As a result, the average capacity utilization rate among the surveyed producers rose by 1.84 percentage points from the prior week to 85.45%, a four-month high, the survey findings showed.

Despite the higher output, alumina availability in the spot market remained limited, as most of the increased supply was used to fulfill long-term contracts rather than entering the spot market, according to market sources.

Besides, the tightness was exacerbated by some alumina sellers either standing firm on prices or refraining from selling last week, encouraged by the strengthening of the alumina futures market which in turn was supported by improved macroeconomic sentiment, as reported.

The tight availability led to an increase in spot alumina prices last week, with Mysteel's price assessment showing that the national average price for smelter-grade alumina with purity exceeding 98.6% had edged up by 1.7% from the week earlier to Yuan 3,248/tonne ($453/t) as of July 24.

During the same week, alumina inventories continued to build for the eighth straight week. Total stockpiles held at China's ten major ports, 44 alumina refiners, 89 primary aluminum smelters, and at rail yards or in transit reached 4.05 million tonnes as of July 24, higher by 58,000 tonnes or 1.5% on week, the survey results showed.

The inventory buildup was mainly driven by a 49,000-tonne rise in alumina stocks held at rail yards or in transit, caused by logistics and transportation disruptions in North China, Mysteel Global learned.