World Aluminum Market Ended in Modest Deficit

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The January to April 2019 Metals Balances Report published by the World Bureau of Metal Statistics (WBMS) suggests that world aluminum market ended in modest deficit. The calculated market balance stood at deficit of 143 kt. This follows a deficit of 966 kt recorded during the whole of the previous year.

The overall global aluminum production rose marginally by 1.3% in January to April in 2019, as compared with the corresponding four-month period in 2018. In volume terms, the production surged higher by 249 kt over the year. The output by China was estimated at 11.484 million tonnes, accounting for approximately 57% of the global aluminum production during the first four months of the current year. The production by the EU region reported a decline by 2.3% when compared with the previous year. Meantime, the output by NAFTA region rose significantly by 6.5% over the previous year.

The total reported stocks of aluminum fell during April 2019 to close at 190kt below the levels recorded during end-2018. The LME stocks surged higher during the month. The increase in Asian region compensated for the fall in stocks in Europe and the USA. The total reported stocks as at end-Apr ’19 were 2,239 kt, lower when compared with 2018 closing level of 2,429 kt. The combined stocks held by four main exchanges-London, Shanghai, USA and Tokyo saw notable decline by 172 kt when compared with Dec ’18 closing level to total 1,779 kt at the end of April 2019.

The primary aluminum production totaled 5,126.0 kt in Apr ‘19, whereas the consumption totaled 5,257.3 kt.