Yunnan Production Cuts Cause Dip in China's Aluminium Output: April'23 Sees 1% M-o-M Drop

China: China's Aluminium production for the month of April 2023 has decreased by 1.2% compared to March 2023, as reported by the National Bureau of Statistics. The total output for April was recorded at 3.33 million tonnes while March witnessed a production of 3.37 million tonnes. During Q1, China's Aluminium production summed up to 9.8 million tonnes. From January to April 2023, China produced approximately 13.3 million tonnes of Aluminium, indicating a 2.23% increase from the same months of the previous year, when the production was at 13.01 million tonnes.

China's reduction in monthly production during April 2023 can be linked to the ongoing problems with production cuts in Yunnan province. Yunnan province is China's fourth largest producer of Aluminium, making up 12% of the country's total capacity. Unfortunately, the decrease in production in Yunnan has not yet been balanced by the introduction of new or restarted capacity.

China's monthly output of Aluminium saw a slight decrease, resulting in limited support to prices. However, this was offset by lower demand in the construction and transportation industries due to a slower-than-anticipated domestic economic recovery and sluggish exports. On a positive note, China's average daily Aluminium output in April 2023 increased by 2 percent month-on-month.

In April, China resumed approximately 255,000 TPA of capacity, primarily in the Guangxi and Guizhou regions located in the southwest. As a result, there is an anticipated increase in output during May. Additionally, the expected summer rainfall in Yunnan is predicted to replenish water levels in the province's dams, leading to an increase in hydropower generation and a subsequent boost in China's Aluminium production.