China's bauxite import surges in Feb

China rare earth ore imports recorded 14,400 mt in January-February 2022, down 13% YoY which was mainly attributed to middle and heavy rare earth.

The SHFE and LME nickel prices diverged markedly in the afternoon trading on Tuesday. The SHFE/LME nickel price ratio shrank from 7.28 to 7.07. The import loss widened to $1,000/mt.

According to General Administration of Customs China imported 8.73 million mt of bauxite in December, up 13.32% month-on-month and 16.4% year-on-year.

China imported 4.01 million mt of nickel ore and its concentrate in November, a decrease of 10% from the previous month and a year-on-year increase of 12%, According to General Administration of Customs.

The trades remained subdued, and the Yangshan copper premiums changed little. Many trading companies have closed their accounts and are busy with the year-end settlement, lacking purchasing interest for spot cargoes. Import losses fluctuated between 200-400 yuan/mt during the week against the January contract.

As of this Friday, the SMM weighted average alumina price index stood at 3884 yuan/mt, an increase of 64 yuan/mt from before the holiday; Shanxi reported 3850-3950 yuan/mt, an increase of 100 yuan/mt from pre-holiday; Shandong reported 3850-3900 yuan/mt, an increase of 75 yuan/mt compared to before the holiday; Henan reported 3850-3950 yuan/mt, an increase of 50 yuan/mt compared with pre-holiday; Guangxi reported 3700-3700 yuan/mt, Guizhou reported 3800-3900 yuan/mt, both flat from before the holiday; Bayuquan reported 3900-4050 yuan/mt, an increase of 75 yuan/mt from before the holiday.

China imported 6.1 million mt of bauxite in February, up 43.7% year on year, latest customs data showed

China’s domestic bauxite consumption is 8.15 million tons in November, dropping 2.51% on monthly basis.

In 2017, Argentina’s imported alumina is estimated to surge to 120,478 tons. China is the largest bauxite source country of Argentina.

In October steel export volume reaches 4.98 million tonnes, dropping 3.1% and 35.3% on monthly and yearly basis respectively.