Global primary aluminum production stood at 5.72mn mt in March, up by 5pc from 5.45mn mt in March 2020, according to the International Aluminum Institute.
Last month, production in China rose by 8pc to 3.3mn mt compared with 3.1mn mt in the same month last year. During the same period, output in the rest of Asia also increased by 9pc to 378,000mt from 347,000mt.
In North America, primary aluminum production fell by 1.1pc to 338,000mt in March, compared with 342,000mt in the prior year period. South America’s output increased by 10pc to 98,000mt from 91,000mt a year ago.
Output in East and Central Europe output inched down 3.7pc to 319,000mt from 331,000mt in February 2020. In West Europe, production trended flat at 353,000mt. In the Gulf, output fell by 0.5pc on an annual basis to 497,000mt from 499,000mt.
Production decreased by 3pc in Africa to 131,000mt from 139,000mt in March 2020 while Oceania produced 162,000mt of primary aluminum, almost flat from 160,000mt a year ago. Estimated unreported production in the rest of the world remained unchanged at 170,000mt.