Singapore 21/07/2016 - Chinese exports of aluminium fabricated products fell 16.6 percent year-on-year to 340,000 tonnes in June, according to final trade data published by the country's General Administration of Customs on Thursday.
The latest figure took first-half exports to 2.02 million tonnes, down 9.2 percent on the same period last year.
The country's exports of unwrought aluminium and aluminium alloy dropped 6.4 percent year-on-year to 37,976 tonnes in June, taking year-to-date exports to 256,823 tonnes. This is down 10.7 percent from January-June last year.
China's imports of unwrought aluminium and aluminium alloy were atypical in June. Imports jumped 78.4 percent year-on-year and more than three-fold month-on-month to 20,320 tonnes in the month. This took year-to-date imports to 62,502 tonnes, down 22.7 percent from the same period last year.
The increase was probably due to a brief import arbitrage opportunity late in May - higher Chinese aluminium prices coupled with attractive premiums in southern China sparked temporary import interest in China.
"We did not see any import arb opportunity thereafter so such a high import figure is unlikely to continue after June," a Shanghai-based aluminium analyst said.
Meanwhile, China's alumina imports slid 28 percent year-on-year to 160,000 tonnes in June. Imports fell 7.4 percent year-on-year to 1.68 million tonnes in January-June this year.
Chinese aluminium scrap imports dipped 9.8 percent year-on-year to 160,000 tonnes in June, taking first-half imports to 860,000 tonnes. This was down 16.2 percent year-on-year.
(Editing by Mark Shaw)