China January-February aluminium output rises 2.6% y-o-y to 7.32 million tons

SHANGHAI, March 17 (Reuters) - China's aluminium production rose by 2.6% to 7.32 million metric tons in January and February from a year earlier, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday. Production of ten nonferrous metals - including copper, aluminium, lead, zinc and nickel – rose 1.4% to 12.94 million metric tons for the first two months this year from a year earlier. The other non-ferrous metals are tin, antimony, mercury, magnesium and titanium. China publishes data for January and February in a combined release to smooth out the effects of the Lunar New Year, which can fall in either month. (Reporting by Violet Li and Mei Mei Chu; Editing by Tom Hogue) ((Violet.Li@thomsonreuters.com;))