Alumina: China’s alumina output hit 3.86 million mt during May, up 10.29% YoY, bringing capacity to 45.45 million mt/yr on an annualized basis, down 1.8%. The lower annualized capacity was mainly resulted from aluminum smelters’ production cuts which left some alumina markets in surplus and weak alumina prices that forced some alumina producers to start maintenance.

Aluminum: Trading inventories of primary aluminum fell sharply during the past month by 266,000 mt. SMM attributes the decline to three major factors. First, production cuts of aluminum producers starting at the beginning of the year cut primary aluminum output. Second, high premiums in Henan and Shandong caused producers to shift deliveries to those regions. Finally, purchases of SRB continued to affect deliveries from aluminum producers.

Aluminum Semis: China Customs reported domestic aluminum semis exports in April were 260,000 mt, up 8.33% YoY; YTD exports through April were 930,000 mt, up 5.68% YoY. Aluminum semis producers reported they were aggressively exporting goods to generate cash in the face of cash flow problems in Q2. Besides, domestic aluminum semis are competitive in international markets due to high premiums of international primary aluminum.