Though global aluminum majors like Alcoa and Rusal did make significant smelting capacity cuts, the same was not true of Chinese companies. This was primarily due to state intervention in the form of provision of subsidies or renegotiated power contracts to smelters, which serve as a disincentive to cut production. China accounts for around half of the world’s aluminum production, and the expansion in production by Chinese producers has more than made up for capacity cuts by global majors. This oversupply situation is expected to keep aluminum prices depressed.
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