Exports of aluminium extrusion, bar, rod to rebound in Mar

SHANGHAI, Mar 27 (SMM) – China's exports of aluminium extrusion, bar, and rod, under five HS codes, are likely to rebound in March after they dropped sharply last month.

Latest customs data showed that exports shrank by 63.81% on the month and by 25.6% on the year, to stand at 42,500 mt in February. 

SMM believed that a stronger yuan, the holidays, and tariffs concerns accounted for the lower exports. 

The offshore yuan traded around 6.7 per dollar in February, compared with some 6.78 in January. A higher yuan prevented Chinese products from entering overseas markets. 

SMM learned that this year’s CNY breaks for most aluminium extrusion producers spanned across the first half of February. Some producers did not recover until the end of February, and this weighed on exports. 

Domestic exporters rushed to deliver cargoes abroad in January ahead of potential US-China tariffs, which also accounted for lower exports in February.