UPDATE 1-China Dec copper output falls from Nov record

* China Dec copper off November record at 418,000 tonnes

* Aluminium, zinc output hits records

By Polly Yam

HONG KONG, Jan 21 (Reuters) - China's production of refined
copper fell 0.6 percent in December from November's record, due
to repairs at top producer Jiangxi Copper (600362.SS)
(0358.HK).

Production of primary aluminium rose 1 percent on the month
in December and hit a record for the third straight month.

Zinc output hit a record for the second straight month,
rising to 462,000 tonnes in the world's top producer of most
base metals, due to expanded capacity and sufficient supply of
zinc concentrates.

China produced 418,000 tonnes of refined copper, down from
November's 420,700 tonnes but up 28 percent from a year
earlier, a table posted on the Shanghai Metals Market website
(www.smm.cn) showed, citing figures from the National Bureau of
Statistics.

"China's monthly output should surpass 400,000 tonnes in
coming months since the capacity is over 5 million tonnes,
unless smelters do not have sufficient materials," said Zhu
Yanzhong, analyst at Jinrui Futures, a subsidiary of Jiangxi
Copper.

He added Jiangxi Copper's repairs had driven down China's
output a bit. [ID:nTOE5BT07B]

Zhu said strong aluminium prices had encouraged aluminium
smelters to produce more metal.

Production of primary aluminium rose to 1.37 million tonnes
in December, up from November's 1.35 million as a result of
smelters' restarts of idle capacity and startups of new
capacity.

Lead production rose 11.6 percent to 374,000 tonnes in
December, according to the website, after falling 3 percent in
November.

But aluminium and lead smelters in Henan, the province that
is the country's top producer of the two metals, face power
shortages and production shutdowns, which could reduce
production in January.

Power shortages have already forced some lead smelters in
Henan to slow or shut production, the latest victim China's
power shortages. [ID:nTOE60H08Y]

Below is a table posted on the Shanghai Metals Market
website (www.smm.cn), for output in December and 2009, in
tonnes.

December YoY pct Jan-Dec YoY pct
Copper 418,000 +28.1 4,252,000 +9.6
Lead 374,000 +15.2 3,871,000 +16.4
Zinc 462,000 +44.8 4,416,000 +11.6
Tin 14,255 +61.2 135,836 +4.5
Nickel 21,271 +5.4 216,363 +15.8
Aluminium 1,369,000 +38.9 12,985,000 +1.0
Alumina 2,439,000 +38.0 23,826,000 +4.4
(Editing by Clarence Fernandez)