Global Economic Analysis and News of Note: Chinese Aluminum Production Falls In August
- China’s Bureau of National Statistics announced last week that the country’s aluminum output fell 3.7 percent from August 2016 to August 2017 to 2.64 million tonnes. According to American Metal Market (subscription required), an aluminum trader said, “China’s efforts in cutting aluminum capacity have started to yield results in the second half of this year, and the market expects that more work will be done with the coming of winter.” Still, aluminum output in China for the first eight months of 2017 was 6.1 percent higher than during the same period in 2016.
- American Metal Market also reported last week that “China’s major mills experienced a drop in their crude steel output rates in late August, even as their inventory levels tumbled.” Crude steel output at the end of August declined 3.7 percent from earlier in the month.
- In other news: auto sales in China increased 4.1 percent between August 2016 and August 2017.