Brazil Primary Aluminum Output Grew 1.7% In August: Abal

RIO DE JANEIRO, Sep 16, 2010 (Dow Jones Commodities News via Comtex) -- Brazilian smelters produced 131,600 metric tons of primary aluminum in August, up 1.7% from a year previously, Brazil's Aluminum Association, known as Abal, said Thursday.

Output grew 9.8% from a year ago at the smelters owned by Alcoa Inc. (AA) and fell 11.8% at Novelis's smelters in Brazil, Abal said. The smelters owned by Vale SA (VALE, VALE5.BR), Japan's Nippon Amazon Aluminum Co., BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP, BHP.AU) and Votorantim Group all reported marginal production increases.

In the January-August period, Brazil's primary aluminum output fell 0.5% from a year ago to 1.02 million tons, Abal said.