[Minor metal] CBI Forecast - Domestic Cobalt Market

BEIJING, July 17 -- Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd. led gains among aluminum producers in China-markets trade on optimism demand for the metal will pick up further amid a recovery in the property and auto industries.
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Aluminum Corp. or Chalco, the nation's biggest maker of the lightweight metal, rose 8.3 percent to 14.83 yuan as of 1:43 p.m. in Shanghai, set for a one-year high. Shandong Nanshan Aluminum Co., the No. 2, advanced 10 percent to 12.82 yuan in Shanghai while Yunnan Aluminium Co., the fifth-largest, climbed 9.5 percent to 11.88 yuan in Shenzhen. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index added 0.1 percent.
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &quot;The better-than-expected figures for the property and auto industries have laid a solid foundation for a full pick-up in demand for aluminum,&quot; Luo Wei, an analyst at China International Capital Corp., said in a report today. &quot;Major listed aluminum companies we cover are all forecast to report profit in the second quarter.&quot; He has an &quot;overweight&quot; rating on the aluminum industry.
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Gross domestic product grew 7.9 percent in the second quarter, faster than the 6.1 percent pace in the previous three- month period, the statistics bureau said yesterday.
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; China's housing sales surged 45.3 percent in the first five months and real-estate investment growth accelerated to 6.8 percent, the statistics bureau said last month. Car sales rose 48 percent in June, the most since February 2006, according to industry figures.
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Aluminum has gained 2 percent this month, set for its fourth month of advances in five on the London Metal Exchange, and jumped 10 percent so far this year, tracking a rally in industrial metals led by copper.
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; (Source: Bloomberg) 
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