THE country’s aluminum production fell 3.6 percent on a daily basis in March from the previous two months to its lowest rate since October, according to calculations based on official data, pressured by winter curbs on industry and low prices for the metal.

The world’s top aluminum-producing country churned out 2.88 million tons of primary metal last month, up 3.4 percent year on year, according to data issued yesterday by the National Bureau of Statistics. Year-to-date output was up 3.9 percent at 8.57 million tons.

The March number works out at around 92,900 tons per day, according to media calculations, down from around 96,400 tons per day in the January-February period and the lowest daily rate since around 87,600 tons per day in October.

Jackie Wang, an analyst at CRU in Beijing, said the consultancy estimates close to 2.7 million tons of annual smelting capacity in China has been closed since a slump in aluminum prices began in the second quarter of 2018.

“We haven’t seen any restarts yet (from the affected smelters),” she said.

China’s aluminum exports last month rebounded from a two-year low in February to 546,000 tons, their second-highest level on record.

Output of 10 nonferrous metals — including copper, aluminum, lead, zinc and nickel — came in at 4.67 million tons in March, up 6.9 percent year on year, the bureau said.(SD-Agencies)