China’s aluminium alloy production rose by 30pc to 906,000mt in December 2019 from 209,000mt in the year prior, despite shortage of aluminium scrap in the last quarter of 2019 on import restrictions.
In 2019, the country produced 9.4mn mt of aluminium alloys, up by 19pc or 1.5mn mt from a year ago. China also imported 36,579mt of aluminium alloy in November, the highest in 2019 and up by 4.3pc from November 2018, as producers faced a shortage of aluminium scrap.
Refined copper output also rose by 10.8pc in December, as China produced 930,000mt, up by 91,000mt from December 2018. China’s 2019 refined copper output also rose by 8.9pc from 2018, as the country produced 9.8mn mt, up by 0.8mn mt.
China, however, plans to cut its copper production in 2020 as treatment and refining charges for concentrates dipped to seven-year low in the last quarter of 2019 causing smelter margins to come under pressure. This, despite China having built surplus smelting capacity in the last decade to reduce copper imports.