China considers buying up base metals -industry body

"All base metals are being considered," Wen said, when asked whether the central government was only thinking of buying aluminium reserves, which he had told Reuters earlier.

Wen also urged Chinese banks to buy aluminium as an investment due to their low prices.

He said he believed production costs of the metal would not be below the current metal prices in 3-5 years.

"If I was a banker and I had money, I would buy aluminium now," Wen told reporters on the sidelines of an aluminium conference in Sanya city on Hainan island.

Zhang Liqun, director of Financial Research Institute of the Development Research Center at the State Council, the cabinet, said buying metals reserves would ease pressure on smelters that were struggling with weak domestic demand and low prices.

"Considering its impact on jobs, buying reserves can be considered," Zhang told the same conference.

Weak demand has driven up aluminium stocks in China. About 1.1 million tonnes of aluminium are estimated to be sitting at warehouses and smelters' yards versus about 1 million tonnes in late November, industry sources at the conference said.

Copyright and Exemption Declaration :¢ÙAll articles, pictures and videos that are marked with "China Aluminum Network" on this website are copyright and belong to China Aluminium Network (www.alu.com.cn). When transshipment, any media, website or individual must list the source from "China Aluminium Network (www.alu.com.cn)". We seek legal actions against anyone that disobey this. ¢ÚArticles that marked as copy from others are for transferring more information to readers, do not represent or endorse their opinions or accuracy and reliability. When other media, website or individuals copy from our website, must keep the source. Anyone that changes the articles' sources will hold the responsibilities for copyright and law problems. We also seek legal actions against anyone that disobey this. ¢ÛIf any articles copied by our website concern the copyright and other problems, please contact us within one week.