China base metal demand to inch up next yr, may pick up in H2

Most base metals will face tepid demand in China in 2016 as the economy slows in the world's largest consumer of the commodities used in everything from jet engines to cooking utensils, although there is some hope appetite will strengthen later in the year. Twelve metals producers, users and analysts contacted by Reuters see Chinese appetite for most base metals rising just slightly in 2016, but four said it could strengthen in the latter part of the year and one said demand for aluminium would be stoked by the country's expanding transport networks.