China aluminium imports decline 14% y/y, custom data shows

SHANGHAI: China’s import of unwrought aluminium and aluminium products fell 14% in November from a year ago, customs data showed on Thursday.

The world’s top metals consumer imported 240,000 metric tons of unwrought aluminium and aluminium products last month, according to the General Administration of Customs.

The decline snapped five months of year-on-year import volume growth, signalling softer demand in the top market for the metal, used in transportation, construction and packaging as year-end neared, traders said.

Arbitrage incentives also stayed muted, leaving import appetite weak, traders added.

In the first 11 months of 2025, China imported 3.60 million tons of unwrought aluminium and aluminium products, up 4.4% from the corresponding period a year earlier.

The data includes primary metal and unwrought, alloyed aluminium.

Imports of bauxite, a key raw material for aluminium, climbed 22.9% from the previous year to 15.11 million tons in November, which brought the year-to-date total imports to 185.96 million tons, an increase of 29.4% year-on-year.

China’s domestic output of aluminium remained strong in November, up 2.5% year on year at 3.79 million ton, according to data from the Bureau of Statistics.