Sichuan Aostar Aluminum Co, a Chinese maker of the lightweight metal, closed all its production as prices slumped on weak demand.

The move was to "curb losses," parent Guangdong Golden Horse Tourism Group Stock Co said in a filing to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. Sichuan Aostar, which has 250,000 metric tons of capacity according to its Website, had previously shuttered half of its facility in October.

"The company will heed market change closely and will re- start production once the market improves," the filing said.

Prices of aluminum, used in car parts, have plunged 38 percent in China this year to the lowest in at least seven and a half years. Chinese producers, the world's largest, have reduced output as prices fell below costs.

(Shanghai Daily December 25, 2008)