Macro Economy

  • The purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector dropped 2.7 percentage points to 49.2 percent in April, below the critical point. In terms of enterprise size, the PMIs of large, medium and small enterprises were 49.3 percent, 49.2 percent and 49.0 percent respectively, down from 4.3, 1.1 and 1.4 percentage points in the previous month, all below the critical point.

 

Industry information

  • It is estimated that the weighted average full cost of aluminum ingot industry in China in April 2023 is 16,603 rmb/ton, which is 477 rmb/ton lower than last month. Compared with the average spot price of aluminum ingot in Shanghai in April of 18,707 rmb/ton, the profit of the whole industry was 2104 rmb/ton. The average profit of aluminum ingot industry in April increased by 811 rmb/ton compared with the previous month. Among the cost items of aluminum ingot, the cost of alumina decreased slightly, and the cost of anode and power generated by coal contributed most of the decrease.
  • Data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers showed that in April, the production and sales of new energy vehicles completed 640,000 and 636,000, respectively, with a year-on-year growth of 1.1 times, and the market share reached 29.5%. From January to April, the production and sales of new energy vehicles respectively completed 2.291 million and 2.222 million, with year-on-year growth of 42.8%, and the market share reached 27%.

 

News of Corporates

  • On May 5, the launch ceremony of Nanshan Figeac Aerospace Industry Co., LTD., a joint venture between Nanshan Aluminum and France’s FIGEAC ARO, was held in Nanjing city, the shares are 50/50. This joint venture company has obtained the AS9100 quality management system certificate on March 30, 2023, and is qualified for batch production delivery. Main business is Machining, surface treatment and assembly of aeronautical parts.
  • On May 10, the roof distributed photovoltaic power generation project of ALG Aluminum realized full capacity grid-connected power generation. The total construction scale of the project is 22.47 MW, the total investment is about 9.5 million USD, and the average annual power generation is about 22 million KWH.

 

Logistics

  • CHINA CONTAINERIZED FREIGHT INDEX:

 

Ship Route

Previous period

Current period

Compared to the last period

05/05/23

12/05/23

(%)

China export container freight rate composite index

967.58

955.93

-1.2

EUROPE SERVICE

1170.67

1170.32

0.0

SOUTHEAST ASIA SERVICE

644.67

629.95

-2.3

SOUTH AFRICA SERVICE

780.97

771.98

-1.2

SOUTH AMERICA SERVICE

710.51

734.21

3.3

 

  •  Alphaliner TOP 100 / 16th May 2023

Others

  • ‘Supply-side headwinds are expected to continue to reduce global aluminum inventories in the near term,’ Century Aluminum Chief Executive Jesse Gary said on a quarterly conference call. ‘Once demand conditions improve, then regional aluminum premiums and LME aluminum prices are expected to respond quickly.’.
  • Goldman Sachs predicts that natural gas prices in Europe will nearly double this winter. Goldman Sachs forecasts that European gas prices could exceed 100 euros per megawatt hour in the second half of 2023, or nearly triple the current price of 36 euros.

 

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