China's Output of 10 Major Nonferrous Metals Up 4.1% in July 2012 from Same Period Last Year

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources China (Beijing, China)--China's output of 10 major nonferrous metals reached 3.06 million metric tons in July 2012, up 4.1% year-over-year, which was 5.7 percentage points lower than the growth rate in the same period last year, according to "Operation Report for Iron and Steel Industry in July 2012," which was announced by the National Development and Reform Commission on August 20, 2012.

Of the nonferrous metals, the output of aluminum ingot was 1.67 million metric tons, an increase of 6.9% year-over-year, while the growth rate in the same period of last year was 14.2%; the output of copper was 460,000 metric tons, an increase of 0.8% year-over-year; the output of lead was 420,000 metric tons, an increase of 148%; and the output of zinc was 370,000 metric tons, a drop of 9.9%.

From January to July 2012, the accumulative output of 10 major nonferrous metals reached 20.87 million metric tons, an increase of 6.7% year-over-year, which was 3.2 percentage points lower than the growth rate in the same period of last year. The output of aluminum ingot was 11.3 million metric tons, an increase of 9.9%, while the growth rate in the same period of last year was 6.8%; the output of copper was 3.22 million metric tons, an increase of 9.2%, but the growth rate was 5.4 percentage points lower than the previous year; the output of lead was 2.6 million metric tons, an increase of 8.9%, but the growth rate was 11.1 percentage points lower than the previous year; the output of zinc was 2.72 million metric tons, a drop of 6.7%; and the output of alumina was up 10.3%, which was 8.6 percentage points lower than that in the previous year.

Regarding the market situation, the price of major nonferrous metals gradually declined. In July 2012, the average price of copper on the Shanghai Future Exchange was $8,662.04 per metric ton, a slight rise compared with the previous month, or 20% lower year-over-year. The average price of aluminum ingot and zinc was $2,432.66 and $2,279.07 per metric ton, respectively, a drop of 2.4% and 1.3% compared with the previous month, or 9.7% and 15.9% year-over-year, respectively.

From January to June 2012, the profits of the nonferrous industry reached $13.52 billion, a drop of 13.9% year-over-year. The profit of the mining and processing of ferrous metal ores reached $5.28 billion, an increase of 1.2%; and the profit of smelting and processing in nonferrous metals industry was reduced to $5.28 billion, a drop of 21.4%.

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