According to customs data released on Thursday, China’s aluminium imports in March experienced a substantial 89.8% surge compared to the previous year, reflecting improved demand prospects in the world’s largest consumer of the metal.
The country imported a total of 380,000 metric tons of unwrought aluminium and related products, including primary metal and unwrought, alloyed aluminium, in the past month. This brought the first-quarter imports to 1.1 million tons, marking a significant 92.3% increase from the same period in the previous year.
Market analysts attributed the rise in imports to expectations of heightened demand for the metal as China’s industrial activity rebounded, with the country’s manufacturing sector expanding for the first time in six months in March. Aluminium, widely utilized in construction, transportation, packaging, as well as the solar and wind power sectors, experienced growing consumption in China.
Furthermore, an increase in shipments from Russia, which accounts for more than half of China’s total imports of primary aluminium, was also observed in March. It is anticipated that the recent sanctions imposed by the U.S. and Britain on Russian metals will lead to a further influx of Russian aluminium into China.
The rise in imports has contributed to an increase in aluminium stocks in China, with stocks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange reaching 231,765 tons, reflecting a 139.8% rise since the beginning of the year and nearing a one-year peak.
Conversely, imports of bauxite, a crucial raw material for aluminium production, experienced a 1.4% decline to 11.86 million tons in March, as indicated by the customs data. However, first-quarter imports of bauxite stood at 36.32 million tons, representing a 2.1% increase from the previous year.