China December aluminium imports rise 7% y/y, customs data shows

China’s imports of unwrought aluminium and aluminium products in December rose 7.1% from a year earlier, customs data showed on Sunday.

The world’s top metals consumer imported 320,000 metric tons of unwrought aluminium and aluminium products last month, according to the General Administration of Customs.

The rise followed a decline in imports in November.

For the full year, China imported 3.92 million tons of unwrought aluminium and aluminium products, up 4.6% from 2024.

The aluminium price rose more than 17% last year.

The data includes primary metal and unwrought, alloyed aluminium.

Imports of bauxite, a key raw material for aluminium, fell 1.7% year-on-year to 14.67 million tons in December, which brought total 2025 imports to 200.53 million tons, an increase of 26.4% year-on-year.