The global aluminum market was in surplus by 773,000 metric tons in the first seven months of the year, the World Bureau of Metal Statistics said Wednesday.
This compares with a surplus of 506,000 tons over the whole of 2012.
Demand for primary aluminum rose 1.3% on year to 26.83 million tons during the first seven months of the year while global production was up 3.7% on year during the same period although no global output figure was provided. Chinese primary aluminum output was estimated at 12.49 million tons, or 45% of global production during the first seven months of the year, the statistics firm said.
Meanwhile aluminum production from the 27-member European Union and the region comprised of Mexico, the U.S. and Canada rose 0.8% and 4% respectively on year in the January to July period. European output rose despite a 3.9% drop in demand during the same period.
Total reported aluminum stocks fell by 43,000 tons on the month to 7.4 million tons by the end of July, equating to 59 days of demand. The global aluminum stock at the end of July was broadly on a par with the same figure at the end of 2012. Total stocks held in the four exchanges in London, Shanghai, the U.S. and Tokyo were 5.83 million tons at the end of July, up 177,000 tons above the figure at the end of last year.
The WBMS said China swung to net exports of aluminum during the first seven months of this year from being a net importer during 2012. China's net aluminum exports amounted to 124,000 tons in the January to July period compared with net imports of 7,000 tons in 2012.
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