BEIJING, May 17 (Reuters) - China's primary aluminium production in April rose 7.2% from a year earlier, official data showed on Friday, fuelled by rising prices for the light metal in China and globally.
The world's biggest aluminium producer churned out 3.58 million metric tons of primary aluminium in April, according to the data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Average daily output in April was 119,333 tons, compared with 115,806 tons in March, according to Reuters calculations based on the data.
Metal prices rallied in April as investors bet on increased prospects for demand from China's clean energy sector, where aluminium is used in the making of solar components and wind turbines. A softer U.S. dollar, which makes the metal cheaper in other currencies, also offered support.
The benchmark aluminium contract on the London Metal Exchange gained 4.1% in April, and the most-traded aluminium contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 4.9%, surpassing the 20,000 yuan level, a two-year high.
That helped average profits for China's aluminium industry to rise to 3,615 yuan per ton, nearly double levels from a year earlier and 48% higher than in the previous month, a report by research house Antaike showed.
In Yunnan in the country's southwest, China's fourth-biggest producing province or region, some operations resumed in April although the production outlook remains uncertain in the hydropower reliant region due to drought and reduced rainfall.
For the first four months of the year, China produced 14.24 million tons of aluminium, up 7.1% from a year earlier, the NBS data showed.
Production of 10 nonferrous metals in April - including copper, aluminium, lead, zinc and nickel - rose 7% from a year earlier to 6.5 million tonnes.
For January to April, output rose 7.1% to 25.89 million tons, the data showed. The other non-ferrous metals are tin, antimony, mercury, magnesium and titanium. (Reporting by Siyi Liu and Beijing newsroom; Writing by Emily Chow; Editing by Neil Fullick and Tom Hogue)
