China's magnesium exports in October rose almost 44% from September to their highest level in 19 months, customs data showed, soothing fears of tight supply of the metal as production recovers.

China supplies around 85% of the world's magnesium - a key element in aluminium alloys used to make auto parts.

Its production, which is heavily concentrated in the northwestern province of Shaanxi, fell sharply in September amid curbs on power use by energy-intensive industries. That sent prices to record highs and led to warnings of looming shortages in Europe.

Exports of high-purity unwrought magnesium from China totalled 24,329 tonnes last month, data released by the General Administration of Customs on Sunday showed.

That was up from an 11-month low of 16,921 tonnes in September and marked the highest monthly total since 38,319 tonnes was exported in March 2020, when China was clearing a backlog of commodity shipments after the coronavirus outbreak.

The biggest export destinations for Chinese magnesium in October were the Netherlands on 8,652 tonnes and Japan on 2,892 tonnes, a breakdown of the customs data showed.

Spot magnesium prices in China, as assessed by Asian Metal , are currently at 36,000 yuan ($5,642) per tonne, having fallen almost 43% from a record high of 63,000 yuan per tonne in late September as the power crunched began to ease and production was restored. 

($1 = 6.3800 Chinese yuan renminbi)

 (Reporting by Tom Daly Editing by Mark Potter) ((tom.daly@thomsonreuters.com; +86 10 5669 2119;))