China's aluminium output remained strong in April, according to official data released on Monday, supported by strong margins. The country's aluminium production rose by 3.1% from a year earlier to 3.87 million metric tons in April, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics. In the first four months of the year, China produced 15.33 million metric tons, a rise of 3.5% from the same period last year. Aluminium prices remained elevated, supported by the Iran war, which led to an effective shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz and damaged major facilities producing the light metal in the Gulf region, which accounted for nearly 9% of the world production. The benchmark three-month aluminium contract rose just 0.20% in April, following a more than 10% jump in March. Higher prices supported better margins, prompting Chinese producers to keep output high. Meanwhile, China's export of unwrought aluminium and products was strong in April, jumping 15%, according to customs data published earlier this month, the highest in at least a year. Production of 10 non-ferrous metals, including copper, aluminium, lead, zinc and nickel, rose 2.8% to 6.94 million metric tons from a year earlier. Year-to-date output was up 3.3% at 27.45 million metric tons. The other non-ferrous metals are tin, antimony, mercury, magnesium and titanium.
