Short news metals
April 4, 2013 Category Automotive Metals & Minerals, Short news metals
- Aluminum production in China climbed to a record in January on capacity additions. Production was 1.78 million metric tons, exceeding the previous record of 1.75 million tons in August, said Zhang Chenguang, Analyst at SMM Information & Technology Co.
- China is likely to limit its gold holdings to 2% of its total foreign exchange reserves, said Yi Gang, Deputy Governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC). The central bank last made known changes to its gold reserves in 2009, announcing that it held 1,054 metric tons, about 1.8% of its total reserves. The bank hasn’t made any revisions since then. “If the Chinese government were to buy too much gold, gold prices would surge, a scenario that will hurt Chinese consumers,” Yi said.
- Baoshan Iron and Steel Co aims to double its overseas sales to offset severe domestic overcapacity. The company aims to raise overseas revenue from 10% to 20% by 2018. It plans to set up a joint venture in Southeast Asia or South America. The goal could also be achieved through mergers and acquisitions, as well as green field investment.
- The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said China is expected to produce 746 million metric tons of crude steel in 2013, 30 million tons more than last year, resulting in new iron ore demand of 50 million tons. China’s domestic new iron ore capacity is expected to reach 20 million tons this year, while the world’s top three international iron ore producers are expected to have a total new iron ore production capacity of around 100 million tons in 2013.
- Aluminum Corporation of China (Chalco) posted its worst results since going public in 2001, chalking up a net loss of CNY8.23 billion for last year, much more than the average loss estimated by 21 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters. Chalco, the country’s largest producer of aluminum, blamed the loss on a 7% fall in the average selling price of the metal, which led to a CNY6.6 billion reduction in gross profit.
- Fujian province-based Zijin Mining aims to complete one or two acquisitions this year and warned that the unit production cost at its mainstay gold mine will continue to rise owing to the deteriorating grade of ore. Zijin posted an 8.8% drop in net profit to CNY5.21 billion, as revenue jumped 21.7%, mainly on higher output of refined copper. Although revenue from mine-produced gold grew 19% on the back of a 15.5% rise in sales to 33.16 tons and a 3% rise in the average selling price, the gross profit margin slid to 63% from 72.8%, due to a 39.7% jump in production costs to CNY120.8 per gram. Zijin plans to raise mine-produced gold by 2.9% to 33 tons this year, and mine-produced copper output by 9.9% to 115,000 tons.
- A list of 45 Chinese steel enterprises that meet national iron and steel industrial standards was published by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) in the latest move to tackle excess production capacity that has plagued the sector. The 45 qualified steelmakers include 30 state-owned enterprises like Baosteel and Angang Steel, and 15 private companies, whose combined crude steel output last year reached 300 million tons, or 41.4% of the country’s total steel output. Another 59 steel enterprises didn’t make the list.
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