China’s Exports Of Unwrought Aluminium And Aluminium Semis Fell 15.4% YoY in Q1

SHANGHAI, Apr 17 (SMM) - According to the customs data, China exported 497,000 mt of unwrought aluminium and aluminium semis in March, down 16.3% YoY. In the first quarter, the export volume dropped 15.4% YoY to 1.38 million mt, while the export value also decreased 23.8% to $4.94 billion.

Last year, China exported a total of 6.6 million mt of unwrought aluminium and aluminium semis, up 17.5% YoY and a new record high. LME aluminium prices outperformed SHFE aluminium prices in 2022, allowing the export profits of Chinese aluminium semis to improve. This, coupled with growing overseas demand, boosted China’s aluminium semis exports, with significant growth in the first half of 2022. However, China’s exports of unwrought aluminium and aluminium semis declined in the second half of the year due to overseas economic recession, with the export volume down 9.4% YoY in the fourth quarter.