China May copper output falls, aluminium, nickel up

* China May refined copper output falls 2 pct on mth on scrap * Aluminium production rises 14 percent on mth on restarts * Nickel output jumps 24.5 pct as prices rise HONG KONG, June 12 (Reuters) - China's production of refined copper fell 2 percent from April's second-highest level ever because of reduced scrap supplies, easing pressure on domestic stocks after record imports in the past four months. But May's production of primary aluminium rose 14 percent on smelters' restarting of idled and new capacity, while nickel output surged 24.5 percent in the month to a four-month high as stronger prices encouraged producers to resume production. China, the world's top consumer and producer of many base metals, produced 331,800 tonnes of refined copper in May, less than April's 338,300 tonnes which was the second highest ever, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Friday. Domestic supply of scrap had fallen in mid-May after Guangdong province tightened customs checks on imports of metals scrap, slowing the inflow to local end-users. Trading sources said that as much 200,000 tonnes of copper scrap could be waiting in Hong Kong and Guangdong waters to go into the southern province, a popular destination for imported scrap. "Supply of copper scrap is facing problems. After the Guangdong news, some (suppliers) are not willing to sell," said Zhu Yanzhong, analyst at Jinrui Futures, a subsidiary of top copper producer, Jiangxi Copper. Imports of copper scrap, a cheaper alternative for production of refined copper, fell 17 percent on the month to 330,000 tonnes in May. ALUMINIUM, NICKEL But strong prices of aluminium and nickel spurred Chinese producers to make more metal despite April's record imports. Chinese prices of spot aluminium rose nearly 5 percent since late April, while nickel surged 17 percent during the same period along with rises on the London Metal Exchange. Production of aluminium rose to 999,300 tonnes in May from April's 876,300 tonnes. "Smelters restarted idled and new capacity. In July and August, you may see the output rising over 1.1 million tonnes a month," a trading manager at one large aluminium smelter said. China may have restarted 2.5-3 million tonnes of idled and new capacity since March, analysts and smelter officials have said. Nickel output rose to 17,551 tonnes in May, the second-highest level this year after January. "We expect nickel output could reach 18,000 tonnes a month on average this year," said Xu Aidong, a nickel analyst at a state-owned research group Antaike. Xu added that Antaike expected China's nickel output to reach 220,000-230,000 tonnes in 2009. Zinc output was little changed from the previous month at 335,500 tonnes in May after smelters restarted idled capacity in February-March. Lead production fell for the second straight month to 285,100 tonnes in May, while tin dropped 5.6 percent on the month to 11,768 tonnes after rising 18 percent in the previous month.