BEIJING: China’s primary aluminium production hit a record quarterly high in July to September, official data showed on Monday, as smelters maintained high operating rates despite a longstanding government-imposed capacity ceiling.
The world’s top aluminium producer churned out 11.84 million metric tons of the metal in the third quarter, up 2.2 percent from a year earlier and 0.5 percent from the previous quarter, according to Reuters calculations based on data from the National Bureau of Statistics.
Production rose 3.1 percent year-on-year to 3.91 million tons in September, but eased from a monthly record of 3.98 million tons in August.
However, average daily output increased to about 130,300 tons in September from 128,400 tons in August, Reuters calculations showed, suggesting smelters continued to operate at high rates.
In the first nine months of the year, China produced 35.03 million tons of primary aluminium, up 3.8 percent from a year earlier.