HONG KONG, April 15 (Reuters) - China's production of refined copper and primary aluminium rose 23.7 percent and 7.4 percent respectively from a year earlier in March, hitting monthly records for both metals on expanded capacity and sufficient supply of raw materials.
China produced 470,000 tonnes of refined copper in March, up from the previous monthly record of 444,000 tonnes in December 2010, and a rise of 21.8 percent from the short month of February, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Friday.
'(We) did not see any factors that limited smelter production (in March). In fact, many smelters such as Jiangxi Copper have been increasing production,' said Guo Yong, analyst at Jinrui Futures, a subsidiary of China's top copper producer Jiangxi Copper Corp.
Listed arm Jiangxi Copper Co Ltd has said the company plans to produce 940,000 tonnes of refined copper this year, from 900,000 tonnes last year.
Guo said supplies of raw materials, scrap and copper concentrate had been sufficient for producers, supporting expanded capacity and production.
China's primary aluminium production rose to 1.428 million tonnes in March, up from the previous monthly record of 1.416 million tonnes in May last year. Output increased 9.4 percent from February.
Many aluminium smelters had increased production and started new capacity after local power supply rose in late February, smelter officials said.
Reduced power between the fourth quarter of last year and early February this year in some provinces, such as southwestern Guizhou, had limited smelter production.
China, the world's top producer of aluminium, lead, zinc and tin, is expected to add about 3 million tonnes of new aluminium smelting capacity this year to 25 million tonnes.
Production of other base metals also rose in March from a year earlier and February this year.
For a table of March base metals production, click,
(Editing by Chris Lewis)
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