Why has a Chinese city’s lockdown sent aluminium prices surging?
BEIJING: The Covid lockdown this week of a relatively unknown Chinese city sent global prices of aluminium rocketing to a 14-year high.
Why did the outbreak in Baise spark fears around the world about the key metal?
WHERE IS BAISE?
Located near the border with Vietnam, Baise is nicknamed the “aluminium capital of southern China”.
Home to around 3.5 million people, Baise is a hub for aluminium mining and production.
It produces about 2.2 million tonnes of the commodity per year – more than 80 per cent of the output in the resource-rich Guangxi region.
Guangxi is China’s main alumina-exporting region, shipping out around 500,000 tonnes of the aluminium component per month.
China is the world’s biggest producer of aluminium, a crucial component in major industries including automobiles, construction and consumer goods.
WHY WAS BAISE LOCKED DOWN?
At just under 190 cases, the Baise COVID-19 outbreak is tiny compared with…
