China’s aluminum imports jumped 61.1% in May from a year earlier, according to customs data. Market participants attributed the increase to rising shipments from Russia, which is subject to Western sanctions.
China, the world’s top consumer of aluminum, imported 310,000 metric tons of unwrought aluminum and products last month. The data include primary metal and unwrought, alloyed aluminum.
Russia, one of the world’s main producers of aluminum, nickel, and copper, has hiked its shipments to China after exchanges in the U.S. and Britain banned the delivery of Russian metals produced following sanctions.
China imported 500,741 tons of primary aluminum from Russia in the first four months of 2023, 91.6% more than the 261,379 tons in the same period last year.
While imports from Russia have surged, imports from other countries have been constrained this year due to global prices remaining higher compared to those in China, according to traders.
The rally in aluminum prices, driven by optimism about demand from the solar and electric vehicle industries and speculative frenzy, has led to the benchmark contract on the London Metal Exchange hitting a near two-year high late last month.
In the first five months of 2023, China imported 1.8 million tons of unwrought aluminum and products, 81.7% higher than the same period last year.
Imports of bauxite, a key raw material for aluminum, also climbed 4.7% to 13.55 million tons in May, with the imports in the first five months of the year standing at 64.04 million tons, up 5.8% from a year earlier.