From January to March 2020, the production and operation of the non-ferrous metal industry were generally stable, but affected by the new crown epidemic, industry benefits and investment decreased year-on-year, and development confidence was insufficient.

First, production is generally stable and prices have stabilized.

From January to March, China's output of ten nonferrous metals was 14.17 million tons, an increase of 2.1% year-on-year, of which the output of copper, aluminum, lead, and zinc were 2.29 million tons, 8.84 million tons, 1.19 million tons, and 1.5 million tons, respectively, year-on-year growth 0.4%, 2.7%, -6.4%, 11%. The output of copper and aluminum materials was 3.67 million tons and 10.52 million tons, down 5.9% and 6.3% year-on-year.

From January to March, the average spot prices of copper, aluminum, lead, and zinc were 45316 yuan / ton, 13438 yuan / ton, 14504 yuan / ton, and 17142 yuan / ton, down 7%, 0.9%, 16.6%, and 22.6% year-on-year. Since then, prices have stabilized, and the average spot prices of copper, aluminum, lead, and zinc rose by 9.5%, 5.6%, 2.1%, and 7.2% respectively from the end of March.

Second, the efficiency has fallen sharply, and the industry's confidence is insufficient.

From January to March, the non-ferrous industry realized a profit of 15.5 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 31.5%. Among them, the mining and processing industries achieved profits of 5 billion yuan and 4.9 billion yuan, down 34.4% and 42.4% year-on-year, respectively, and the smelting industry realized profits of 5.6 billion yuan, an increase of 2.2% year-on-year. The Nonferrous Metals Prosperity Index for March, which was calculated by the Nonferrous Metals Association, was 16.6, which was in a relatively cold range. The industry enterprise confidence index in the first quarter was 44.8, which was 4 basis points lower than that in the fourth quarter of 2019 and the lowest point in three years.

Thirdly, investment decreased year-on-year, and the decline in aluminum exports narrowed.

From January to March, investment in the non-ferrous metal industry decreased by 11.4% year-on-year, of which investment in mining and processing fell by 10.8% year-on-year, and investment in smelting and processing decreased by 11.6% year-on-year. The export of aluminum materials was 1.12 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 12.2%, which was 8 percentage points narrower than that in January-February. The export of unwrought copper and copper materials was 223,000 tons, an increase of 3.5% year-on-year.

From January to March, the production of major aluminum products remained generally stable. The output of electrolytic aluminum was 8.84 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 2.7%, and the output of alumina and aluminum materials was 16.93 million tons and 10.52 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 7.2% and 6.3%, a decrease of 1%. -February narrowed by 5.8 percentage points and 6.2 percentage points in February.

The aluminum industry realized a profit of 3.13 billion yuan, an increase of 69.2% year-on-year, of which the aluminum ore mining and aluminum rolling processing industry realized profits of -0.2 billion yuan and 1.69 billion yuan, down 116.7% and 36.7% year-on-year, and the aluminum smelting industry realized a profit of 1.46 billion yuan , An increase of 2.4 billion yuan year-on-year.

The export of aluminum materials was 1.12 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 12.2%, which was 8 percentage points narrower than that in January-February. The import volume of bauxite was 28.41 million tons, an increase of 10% year-on-year.