Supply-side tightness was one of the causes for the price increase in China’s Aluminium sheet market in December. The running rates at major Chinese producers of aluminium sheet, and strip dropped to almost xxx from last week, close to a one percentage point drop from a week earlier. This was a result of increasing operation difficulties. Environmental protection policies have stepped up, especially in Central China, with provinces such as Gongyi beginning to issue red alerts for air pollution control policies in late December. These bans, plus persistent environmental restrictions in neighbouring industrial capitals such as Luoyang and Sanmenxia, limited Aluminium sheet production as well as movement.
On top of that, prices of feedstock aluminium a key cost component for Aluminium sheet manufacturers were on the rise in December. Elevated raw material costs squeezed margins and compelled producers to pass increased costs...
