Morning Bites (part 2)

🇨🇳The State Grid of China increased capital expenditures 81% YoY in January-February 2026, Bloomberg reports, citing a company statement. The numbers underscore Beijing’s push to ease transmission bottlenecks and the State Grid’s overall plan to boost capex 40% in 2026-30 (vs. the average 2021-25 level)

To recap, the State Grid corp. controls ~80% of Chinese electricity transmission capacity and historically accounts for 80-85% of the local grid capital expenditures

On our numbers, the grid accounts for 10-15% of Al and Cu demand in China, so upbeat investments (due to the growing installations of renewable energy) are fundamentally supportive of demand for these base metals. The January-February data are not necessarily representative for the full year, given how seasonally low they tend to be; however, the strong start suggests potential upside risks to our current demand forecasts

#copper #aluminium