Non-ferrous metal sector continues to falter

China's non-ferrous metal sector looks set to continue to falter in 2015 as a slowing economy has sapped demand while excess production capacity has contained the sector's development.

Growth in output and consumption of 10 major non-ferrous metals including copper, aluminum, lead and zinc, will slow further while investment in the sector will continue to shrink, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in a statement.

According to the MIIT, China produced 44.17 million tonnes of the metals in 2014, up 7.2 percent form one year earlier, but the pace of growth slowed from the 9.9-percent rise registered in 2013.

The slowdown came amid continued weakness in economic activity. The economy expanded by 7.4 percent last year, the slowest pace in a quarter of a century.