Chalco cuts alumina price

Aluminium Corporation of China (Chalco) cut its alumina selling price by 12.8% in hopes of spurring slumping demand in the wake of Beijing's credit tightening. China's power-hungry smelters, which turn the bauxite extract into aluminium for drink cans and building materials, have been hit by the same credit squeeze stalling developers. The price drop, the first in two years, sent the metal down to RMB 3,750 a tonne � still higher than imported alumina, which sells in the US for US$320 (RMB 2,646) a tonne and lands in China at a delivered price of RMB 3,500-3,600. H-share Chalco, which supplies more than half of China's alumina, made the announcement through the Hong Kong stock exchange.