SHANGHAI, Jan 16 (SMM) – The depreciation of the yuan, potential tariff hikes and US sanctions on Rusal bolstered China’s aluminium exports in 2018 to a yearly high. China exported 5.8 million mt of unwrought aluminium and aluminium products in 2018, up 20.9% from 20017, the General Administration of Customs said on Monday January 14.

In April, Washington announced sanctions on Russian oligarch, Oleg Deripaska, and his business empire. Those measures threatened the future of Rusal, the world’s second largest aluminium producer, and spurred fears of aluminium shortages.

Higher prices of aluminium internationally prompted Chinese suppliers to cash in and fill the supply gap.

US tariffs of 10% on some $200 billion of Chinese imports took effect on September 24, and were slated to increase to 25% on January 1, 2019. This drove Chinese manufacturers of aluminium products to rush export shipments ahead of the hike, resulting in a surge in exports.

Declines in the yuan lowered the SHFE/LME aluminium ratio and widened the export arbitrage window.  

In December, exports of unwrought aluminium and aluminium products shrank 0.6% from November to 527,000 mt, but gained 19.8% year on year, showed customs data. A smaller arbitrage export window accounted for the month-on-month dip.

Exports in November were revised to 530,000 mt, the second-highest on record.