A worker cuts metal at a scrap metal stall at a recycling yard at the edge of Beijing, China, October 20, 2016. REUTERS/Thomas Peter BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s non-ferrous metal output fell to a one-year low in August, in a sign that Beijing’s environmental crackdown is curbing supplies of base metals, with aluminum also hit by efforts to rein in output. Production of 10 nonferrous metals – including copper, aluminum, lead, zinc and nickel – fell 2.2 percent to 4.42 million tonnes, official data showed on Thursday, the lowest in a year and the first year-on-year drop since December 2015. “I think it is definitely related to the crackdown on production that will pollute the environment,” said Helen Lau, an analyst at Argonaut Securities in Hong Kong. The impact of China’s environmental protection campaign was also evident in weak industrial production growth, she said. China has launched an aggressive […]