China Bauxite imports from Indonesia may drop in short term

There is potential for a sharp drop in bauxite imports by China from Indonesia after January, at least in the short term, though China is comfortably stocked with bauxite which will provide it with some buffer, said London based Barclays in its recent market analysis

Meanwhile, the pace of growth in Chinese primary aluminium production continued to accelerate in November, rising 16% y/y, driven by new capacity ramp-ups in Xinjiang. With SHFE inventories drawing the pace of growth in, apparent consumption rose further to 28% y/y, which like copper is surprisingly strong, the bank noted.

Bauxite imports were up 50% y/y and 82% y/y in the YTD, though they did ease back from October’s levels. 65% of the imports came from Indonesia, offering continued evidence of stockpiling ahead of the country’s impending ban on mineral exports in January 2014. There is still widespread uncertainty over the specifics of the application of the ban, but in the interim, refineries continue to buy, it said.

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