Primary Aluminum Market Ended in Deficit In Q1 This Year

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The January to March 2021 Metals Balances Report published by the World Bureau of Metal Statistics (WBMS) suggests that primary aluminium market ended in marginal deficit of 70 kt. This follows a surplus of 1,070 kt recorded for the entire year 2020.

The global production during the initial three-month period of the current year rose by nearly 5.9% upon comparison with the similar three-month period a year before. The Chinese output, at 9,758 kt, accounted for almost 57% of the global aluminium production. The NAFTA output declined marginally by 0.2%, whereas the EU output edged lower by 7.60%, compared to the previous year.

The demand stood higher by 1,389 kt from the comparable period in 2020 to around 17.21 million tonnes. The Chinese apparent demand surged higher by 17% than in Jan-Mar ‘20. On the contrary, the EU-28 demand edged lower by 44 kt.

The total reported stocks of the metal surged in March to close the quarterly period at 694 kt above the end-2020 levels. The Shanghai stocks rose in all the first three months of the year. Meantime, the LME stocks closed at 1,889.4 kt at the end of March 2021, compared with 1,340.5 kt at the end of the previous year.

In March 2021, primary aluminium production totalled 5,845.4 kt, whereas the demand stood at 5,899.2 kt.

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