China’s Gargantuan Aluminum Exports Poised to Get Even Bigger

Aluminum ingots are produced at an aluminum smelting factory in Zouping, China, on Nov. 4, 2013.

Photographer: Brent Lewin/Bloomberg
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China’s ballooning exports of aluminum will probably get even bigger because of the surprise yuan devaluation.

The country is the world’s biggest producer of the metal, which is used in everything from beverage cans to airplanes. Many Chinese producers haven’t cut output even amid slumping prices, partly because of government subsidies, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Domestic demand has weakened at the same time, spurring a flood of aluminum to the global market.