SHANGHAI, Mar 16 (SMM) - The average operating rate of aluminium plate/sheet and strip producers stood at 63.15% in February, up 0.62 percentage point MoM but down 14.26 percentage points YoY.

In February, aluminium plate/sheet and strip output and the downstream orders grew MoM owing to the approaching peak season. At the same time, the inventory of finished products held by many companies dropped sharply from the previous month. In March, the production and sales of aluminium plate/sheet and strip enterprises will grow further in the peak season. However, several industry players said that the market demand was lower than in the same period in previous years, and it remains to be seen whether the downstream demand will continue to increase in March.