Brazil March Aluminum Output Declines 0.9% On Year -Industry Group

SAO PAULO -（Dow Jones）- Brazil's output of primary aluminum dropped 0.9% on the year in March to 131,700 metric tons, Brazil's aluminum producers and manufacturers association, known as ABAL, said Monday.

In the first quarter, Brazil's output of primary aluminum dropped 2.9% to 377, 500 metric tons.

Brazil's top producer for the first quarter was Companhia Brasileira de Aluminio, with 117,100 tons produced, up 1.2% from the year-ago period. In the meantime, Aluminio Brasileiro SA, or Albras, made 108,200 tons of aluminum last quarter, down 4.1% from the year ago period.

U.S. producer Alcoa Inc.  produced a total of 85,600 tons at its two plants in Maranhao and Minas Gerais states, up 4.8% from the first quarter of 2009.

Last year, Brazil produced 1.53 million tons of aluminum, down 7% from 2008, ABAL said.