BEIJING: China’s aluminium imports in May climbed 1.8% from a year earlier, customs data showed on Sunday, but arrivals were lower than the prior month amid weak industrial demand.

The world’s biggest aluminium producer and consumer brought in 191,701 tonnes of unwrought aluminium and products -including primary metal and unwrought, alloyed aluminium - last month, according to data from the General Administration of Customs.

That compared to 188,469 tonnes imported in the same month of 2022, but lower than the 222,851 tonnes in April.

The metal is mainly used in the transportation, construction and packaging sectors.

Overall consumption of the light metal remained weak amid sluggish performance of the housing sector, an unexpected contraction in May factory activity and a subdued export market.

That said, better production in the solar and auto sectors lent some support to demand.

China’s May aluminium imports up slightly on prior year

Chinese passenger car production and sales posted annual growth of 18% and 28.2% in May, according to the China Car Passenger Association.

The world’s top metal consumer is expected to carry out more stimulus to boost its economy, which could mean more demand for industrial metals.

Primary aluminium production in the country remained constrained by a power crunch in the southwestern Yunnan province, with May output rising only slightly to 3.42 million metric tons.

Imports in the first five months of the year totalled 989,298 metric tons, up 10.3% year-on-year, the data showed.

Industry participants are expecting more shipments from Russia, which exported 261,384 metric tons of primary aluminium to China in the first four months, up 185% from the same period last year, according to customs data.

Imports of bauxite, a key raw material for aluminium products, totalled 12.93 million metric tons last month, the customs data showed, up 7.8% on the prior year.