According to the presentation from Aluminum Corporation of China Limited (CHALCO), Chinese aluminum giant also the world’s largest aluminum enterprise, the company disclosed its primary aluminum production in the first half of 2019 was 1.89 million tons, decreasing from 2.1 million tons, down by over 8% from a year earlier.

Regarding the output of alumina used to produce aluminum, it was 6.82 million tons, up by 3.2% from a year earlier. The presentation also showed that the average sales price of CHALCO’s aluminum from January to June was down 4.4% from a year ago to RMB 13,778/ton. This resulted from the impact of low prices on Chinese smelters.

It was believed that Shanghai aluminum prices sought to compensate two-year lows in the first half of 2019, which had led to Chinese smelters to cut output in order to minimize losses and the aluminum prices now reached RMB 14,300/ton after recent flooding and outrage in Hongqiao and Xinjiang respectively.