By the end of March 2023, production of primary aluminium was 2.2 per cent above the previous year's level. While the recovery in China weakened somewhat with an increase of 3.8 per cent compared to the previous month, European production remains significantly below the previous year's level at over 10 per cent.
Overall weak demand and high electricity prices are weighing on production in continental Europe. On the LME, inventories rose by 9.1 per cent to 568,500 tonnes during April, while stocks on the SHFE fell by over 17 per cent to around 235,800 tonnes during the same period.
Following the 2.5 per cent decline in zinc mine production in 2022, a 3 per cent increase to around 12.86 million tonnes is expected for the full year after the positive start to 2023. The drivers are increases in Australia, India, Brazil, Kazakhstan, Mexico, South Africa and the USA. Growth of 1.5 per cent is expected for China.
Refinery production is also expected to increase by 3.1 per cent to 13.76 million tonnes, with the strongest growth in the above-mentioned countries. For Europe, a slight recovery is expected in 2023 after the sharp drop of over 11 per cent due to extremely high energy prices in the previous year.
