Primary Aluminum Market Ended in Deficit Until May

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The January to May 2021 Metals Balances Report published by the World Bureau of Metal Statistics (WBMS) suggests that primary aluminium market ended in marginal deficit of 655 kt. This follows a surplus of 1,174 kt recorded for the whole of year 2020.

The global production during the initial five-month period of the current year rose by nearly 5.5% upon comparison with the similar five-month period a year before. The Chinese output, at 16,335 kt, accounted for almost 57% of the global aluminium production. The NAFTA output declined marginally by 0.8%, whereas the EU output edged lower by 6.70% compared to the previous year.

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The demand stood higher by 2,745 kt from the comparable period in 2020 to around 29.29 million tonnes. The Chinese apparent demand surged higher by 15% than in Jan-May ‘20. Also, the EU-28 demand was 117 kt higher than the comparable period in 2020.

The total reported stocks of the metal declined in May to close the period at 233 kt below the end-2020 levels. The Shanghai stocks rose in all the first three months of the year, but dropped in April and May, ending the five-month period 104 kt above the end-2020 levels. Meantime, the LME stocks closed at 2,576.9 kt at the end of May 2021, compared with 2,916.9 kt at the end of the previous year.

In May this year, primary aluminium production totalled 5,798.7 kt, whereas the demand stood at 6,056.5 kt.