Aluminium prices fluctuate as China’s factory output growth slows down

The prices of aluminium and copper declined by INR 2 per kg on Thursday in the Indian non-ferrous market due to reduced industrial offtake and an overall weak global trend.

According to traders, the reason for the weakened sentiment is the slide of aluminium in the global market as a result of the slowing factory output growth in October.

The aluminium for three-month delivery has gone down by 0.3% to USD 2,054.25 per mt on LME while the Indian domestic prices of aluminium ingots, sheet cutting, wire scrap and utensils scrap have all gone down by INR 2 each amounting to IN6 164, 165, 167and 164 per kg respectively.

In the U.S. the slowing factory output growth in China, coupled with the employment figures, resulted in a fluctuation of aluminium prices, shuffling between gains and losses.

Although the Chinese industrial production grew by 7.7% from last year, it has come down from the 8% recorded in the previous month and below the predictions of the Bloomberg News survey. The price of aluminum however rose by 0.2% in London after a 0.4% decline recorded earlier.

In October, China’s metals industry did not perform too as a slowing of growth was noticed in the non-ferrous smelting and processing unit, falling from 11.9% in September to 10.5%.