The Wall Street Journal-20080125-Aluminum Corp- of China- The Closing of Two Units Pushes Aluminum Prices Up

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Aluminum Corp. of China: The Closing of Two Units Pushes Aluminum Prices Up

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Aluminum Corp. of China, or Chalco, shut down two aluminum- production units in Guizhou province, one of the areas hit hardest by China's electricity shortages. The shortages have been caused by a combination of severe snowstorms, transportation bottlenecks and pricing problems. The Chalco move has pushed up aluminum prices and raised concerns that power cuts could force other industries to scale back output, too. Chalco didn't say how much production has been lost. Goldman Sachs Group estimated that the shutdown of the two smelters for two months could reduce Chalco's profit this year by 1%, or 100 million yuan ($13.8 million).