WEEKLY: China's alumina supply rises, pressuring prices

Alumina availability in the spot market increased over the week, bolstered by higher domestic production and steady inflows of imported alumina, according to market watchers. 

Domestic alumina production increased further last week, on the back of newly commissioned and resumed capacity. Over May 8-14, output of smelter-grade alumina from the 44 refiners tracked by Mysteel totalled 1.79 million tonnes, up by 1.1% on week, according to the Mysteel's survey. This marked an acceleration from the 0.9% increase recorded during the previous week, Mysteel Global noted.

Meanwhile, supply from overseas also moved higher, as imported alumina continued to arrive at ports in North China and kept portside inventories elevated. Mysteel's survey showed that alumina stocks at ten major ports under its tracking climbed by 11.6% from a week earlier to 500,000 tonnes, a near four-year high.

The increase in supply weighed moderately on prices during the week. On May 14, Mysteel assessed the national average spot price for metallurgical-grade alumina with a minimum purity of 98.6% at Yuan 2,708/tonne ($398/t), down by Yuan 3/t from a week earlier.

While downstream demand remained largely steady, overall inventories kept growing. By May 14, total alumina stocks across the ten main ports, 44 alumina producers, 89 primary aluminium smelters, and rail yards or in transit had risen by 1.3% on week to set a new record high of 6.1 million tonnes, according to Mysteel's survey. This marked the 49th consecutive weekly rise, Mysteel Global noted.

Written by Iris Pang, pangjunyu@mysteel.com

Edited by Russ McCulloch, russ.mcculloch@mysteel.com