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China's total consumer spending is less than one US State.
Fears Rise the Yuan Will Collapse
Aluminum futures fell to $2,670 per tonne from the nine-month high of $2,730 on February 20th, as bets that the US government may relax some sanctions on Russia eased growing concerns of low supply.
The developments lifted Rusal HDRs, ( https://www.aluminas.ru/en/association/the-registry/rusal/ ) the world’s largest aluminum producer outside China, by 50% in the third week of February, reflecting expectations that the company may have access to new export partners. This is despite fresh threats from the European Commission that it may place fresh sanctions on Russian aluminum.
Still, China produced 44 million tons of aluminum in 2024, the most on record, meaning that output will be forced to slow considerably this year as Beijing capped production at 25 million tons.