Aluminium glut to continue as smelters get lifeline of lower costs
(Minews) - North American aluminium demand fell 4 percent in February compared with the same month last year, while aluminium ingot and mill product exports tumbled more than 25 percent.
Aluminium demand in the USA and Canada – shipments by domestic producers plus imports – fell 4 percent to 1.86 billion lb in February, according to the Aluminum Association’s monthly report.
Demand for semifabricated mill products dropped 2.6 percent year on year to 1.24 billion lb, while apparent domestic consumption – demand minus exports – rose 0.4 percent to an estimated 1.62 billion lb in the same comparison.
Meanwhile, exports of aluminium ingot and mill products from the USA and Canada (excluding cross-border trade) fell 25.3 percent to 247.2 million lb in February, while imports were up 8 percent to 355.6 million lb in the same comparison.
Producer inventories totaled 2.7 million lb at the end of February, up 6.9 percent from a month earlier and 2.5 percent higher than in February 2013.
