China’s 2009 Aluminum Consumption May Rise 12%, Minmetals Says

Nov. 28 (Bloomberg) -- China’s aluminum consumption may rise 12 percent this year as the booming real estate industry, power network construction and car sales boost demand for the metal, said Wang Feihong, analyst at a unit of China Minmetals Corp. Aluminum inventory in China may gain by 1.2 million tons by year-end because supply is likely to exceed demand, Wang said today in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province. The country’s so-called apparent demand may reach 17.43 million tons this year while actual demand may reach 16.23 million tons, he said. China Minmetals Corp. is the country’s largest metals trader. The following is a table of Minmetals’ forecast on major aluminum users’ growth in 2009. *T* Industry % of Total Aluminum Demand 2009 Growth Construction 38.5% 20.6% Transportation 16.6% 5.3% Durables 14.5% -6.5% Machinery 6.7% 5.0% Power/Electronics 16.2% 25.0% Packaging 3.8% 0.0% Others 3.7% 0.0% *T* To contact the Bloomberg News staff on this story: Feiwen Rong in Kunming at frong@bloomberg.net