Center
Metal sector set for bumper year
By Gong Zhengzheng (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-03-27 08:43
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Non-ferrous metal production in China is expected to grow by 15 percent this year, led by aluminum and copper, boosted by mounting demand, according to an industry organization.
The combined production of 10 main metals aluminum, copper, lead, zinc, nickel, stannum, magnesium, titanium, antimony and mercury will reach 22 million tons in 2007, up from 19.17 million tons last year, said Kang Yi, president of the China Non-ferrous Metal Industry Association.
The 2006 figure made China the world's top non-ferrous metal manufacturer for a fifth consecutive year.
Kang said aluminum production would climb to 11 million tons this year from 9.35 million tons in 2006.
He said China's demand for non-ferrous metals would continue to grow this year thanks to booming metal-consuming industrial sectors such as real estate and cars.
But he didn't provide a specific forecast on demand for this year.
"Prices (of non-ferrous metals) will continue to sway at high levels this year," Kang said.
Last year, prices of many non-ferrous metals such as aluminum, copper, zinc and nickel hit record highs at home and abroad as a result of strong demand and hedge funds buying up metals futures.
Liu Defei, an analyst withBeijing-based metal industry consultancy Antaike Information Development Co Ltd, said domestic aluminum demand would surge by 28 percent to 10.8 million tons this year from 2006.
The growth is up from the 21 percent reported last year, Liu said.
Kang predicted China's production of alumina, the raw material used to make aluminum, would jump to 20 million tons this year from 13.7 million tons in 2006, driven by swelling aluminum production.
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