Official data released on Monday showed that China’s primary aluminum output rose 3% year-on-year in the first two months of 2026, driven by higher profits.

According to the latest figures from China’s National Bureau of Statistics, China—the world’s largest aluminum producer—produced 7.53 million metric tons of primary aluminum in January and February alone.

Improved profit margins for the lightweight metal—widely used in construction, packaging, and automotive manufacturing—have driven the production growth.

According to Chinese research firm, aluminum smelters earned an average profit of CNY7,879 (approximately $1,142.26) per ton, a 2.2% increase from the previous month, due to falling input costs and rising aluminum prices.

The most actively traded aluminum contract rose nearly 11% in January but fell nearly 7% in February.

Input costs fell 0.7% month-on-month and 6.4% year-on-year due to lower electricity prices and alumina raw material costs.

Output of ten non-ferrous metals, including copper, aluminum, lead, zinc, and nickel, rose 3.9% year-on-year to 13.42 million metric tons. Other non-ferrous metals include tin, mercury, magnesium, antimony, and titanium.

China released combined output data for January and February to minimize the impact of the Lunar New Year holiday falling in either month. The exchange rate was 6.8977 yuan per U.S. dollar.

As an integrated internet platform providing benchmark prices, on March 16, SunSirs' benchmark aluminum price stood at RMB25,130.00 per ton, representing an increase of 7.36% compared to the beginning of the month (RMB23,406.67 per ton).

Application of SunSirs Benchmark Pricing：

Traders can price spot and contract transactions based on the pricing principle of agreed markup and pricing formula (Transaction price=SunSirs price + Markup).

SunSirs has been continuously tracking price data for over 200 commodities for nearly 20 years, please contact support@sunsirs.com for subscription.