BEIJING, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- China's output of 10 major non-ferrous metals rose 5.5 percent year on year in October, according to new data.
The rise was in contrast to a 3.3-percent drop for the same month of 2017, the National Development and Reform Commission said in a statement.
In the first 10 months, combined production rose 4.4 percent to 44.79 million tonnes, 1 percentage point faster than the same period last year.
Partly due to rising production costs, the sector's profits dropped 9.6 percent year on year, to 123.4 billion yuan (17.8 billion U.S. dollars) from January to September.
The 10 major non-ferrous metals are copper, aluminum, lead, zinc, nickel, stannum, antimony, mercury, magnesium and titanium.
Excess production capacity is a chronic problem for some non-ferrous metals. The country has moved to control new capacity for metals struggling with overcapacity, such as electrolytic aluminum.
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