China’s aluminium production hit a record high in August, data showed on Tuesday, as strong margins encouraged smelters to maximise output despite a longstanding national capacity cap.
Production rose 4.7% from a year earlier to 3.98 million metric tons, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed.
Output in the world’s top aluminium producer increased from just below 3.9 million tons in July and was close to the previous monthly high of 3.979 million tons recorded in June.
In the first eight months of the year, China produced 31.12 million tons, up 3.9% from the same period last year.
At that pace, output would annualise at about 46.7 million tons, well above the country’s 45-million-ton capacity ceiling. China has maintained tight controls on aluminium smelting capacity since 2017.
China produced 45.02 million tons of primary aluminium in 2025, up 2.4% from a year earlier.
Higher output has been supported by strong margins amid higher prices following supply disruptions in the Middle East by the war.
Benchmark three-month aluminium CMAL3 gained nearly 8% so far this year, and was up 1.82% in August.
Production of 10 nonferrous metals, including copper, aluminium, lead, zinc and nickel, rose 1.6% from a year earlier to 7.1 million tons in August. Output of the 10 metals in January-August increased 2.9% to 55.58 million tons.
(Reporting by Dylan Duan and Lewis Jackson, Editing by Louise Heavens)
