Alcoa — the largest US aluminium producer — sees global demand growth for the commodity recovering to 7% this year as China’s economic rebound drives demand for cans, transport and office buildings.

Aerospace demand would increase by as much as 10% as aircraft makers faced record backlogs, the company said on Tuesday in its fourth-quarter earnings presentation. It also predicted that aluminium consumption may increase 19% in China’s heavy-truck and trailer industry, while US commercial building and construction expands for the first time in four years.

"The fundamentals are pretty positive," CEO Klaus Kleinfeld said. "We will absolutely see the rebound" in aluminium prices.

Demand in China, the world’s largest aluminium user, would grow 11% this year to 23-million tons as stimulus spending announced by the country’s new leadership began to show its effect, Mr Kleinfeld said.

He also forecast an acceleration of consumption in Brazil, India and Russia. Global demand advanced 6% last year, according to Alcoa.

China’s economic growth probably quickened to 7.8% in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, up from a three-year low in the previous period, according to a survey last month.

The government will release quarterly gross domestic product data as well as last month’s industrial production, retail sales and fixed-asset investment data on January 18.

Aluminium for delivery on the London Metal Exchange averaged $2,021 a ton last year. The price is expected to rise to $2,292 next year and to $2,400 in 2015, the estimates show.