Bloomberg reported that the global aluminum surplus may narrow by 23% in 2011 from this year as consumption may grow at a faster pace than supply led by demand from emerging markets.

Japanese trading company Marubeni Corporation said that the surplus of primary aluminum will decrease to 1.3 million tonnes from 1.69 million estimated for this year. Global demand is forecast to expand 7.5% outpacing 6.2% growth in supply.

Mr Yutaka Ishibashi GM at Marubeni's light metals section said that demand for the metal used in cars and houses will keep growing on strong consumption by China, Brazil and other emerging economies while production expansion may slow because of a lack of new projects by major producers.

Mr Ishibashi said that “The global aluminum market may become balanced as early as 2013 as growth in demand will probably outpace supply. An aluminum surplus in China, the largest producer and consumer is forecast to narrow by 44% to 61,000 tonnes next year as output will be curbed by energy saving.”

He said that China's influence on the global market will be almost neutral as the nation is unlikely to import or export a substantial volume of the metal.

(Sourced from Bloomberg)