China’s unwrought aluminium and aluminium semis exports continue to increase 7.7% M-o-M in Sept’20

China Customs data released that the country’s unwrought aluminium and aluminium semis exports in September 2020 stood at 426,000 tonnes, up by 7.7 per cent from 395,424 tonnes in August but down by 2.1 per cent from 435,000 tonnes during the same period last year.

After the addition of September data, China’s total unwrought aluminium and aluminium semis exports in the first nine months of 2020 stood at 3.56 million tonnes, 18.6 per cent lower than 4.37 million tonnes in a year ago.

Slight fall in SHFE aluminium price compared to LME and restocking by overseas buyers ahead of the Chinese National Day holidays attributed to the month-on-month increase in China’s aluminium exports. But on a year-on-year basis, the export extended its decline as the COVID-19 impacts continued to hurt overseas consumption. Also, import restrictions on aluminium scrap turned China from a net exporter to a net importer this year.

SMM expects China’s exports to remain restrained in October 2020, in light of possible resurgence of COVID-19 overseas and increasing anti-dumping measures.