China Alumina Output to Grow further in May, SMM Expects

SHANGHAI, May 24 (SMM) – China’s alumina output will continue growing in May due to release of restarted and new capacity, SMM predicts based our survey. 

Alumina price rally, which began in February, has allowed most alumina producers to enter profit territory in terms of cash costs. This triggered massive capacity restarts. 

As of mid-May, restarted alumina capacity had approached 70% of capacity idled in the second half of last year, SMM statistics showed. 

These massive restarts, plus release of new capacity, will allow production to increase further, SMM explained. 

The country’s alumina output totaled 4.62 million tonnes in April, up 0.43% from March, but down from a year ago, with operational capacity at 16.48 million tonnes, SMM data showed. 

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