China cancels metal export tax rebates, aluminum and other industrial metals rise in response.

After China cancelled export tax rebates for certain bulk commodities, aluminum and all other industrial metals rose in response. Following the announcement by the Ministry of Finance, London aluminum rose by 8% at one point. It is understood that the Chinese aluminum industry has traditionally exported large quantities of metal as semi-finished products, which are used for value-added manufacturing or simply remelted for use as primary metals. Reducing incentives for the export of these products may change the aluminum supply in other markets. In addition, tax advantages for copper were also cancelled. Earlier on Friday, industrial metals were boosted by Chinese retail sales data showing that consumption growth in China, as the world's largest metal importer, was almost catching up with factory output growth. Earlier, Citigroup also raised its 2024 economic growth forecast for China to 5%. On Friday, copper, zinc, and nickel all saw increases of over 1%. Industrial metal prices have been on a downward trend since late September, and are poised for a seventh consecutive week of decline. Concerns about the global economy before the US presidential election have been a major driver. After Trump's victory, the US dollar soared, reducing the attractiveness of commodities priced in dollars and exacerbating bearish sentiment. On Friday, the US dollar fell slightly. At the time of writing, LME copper rose by 1.39% to $9,149.50 per ton. Aluminum and zinc rose, while nickel turned from a rise to a fall. Alcoa Corporation (AA.US) and Century Aluminum Company (CENX.US) both saw pre-market surges of over 5%.