This has got to be the dumbest idea to come out of China in a while.

Is stockpiling more aluminum the answer, China? Really?

Not that I am suggesting China has a monopoly on stupid ideas, we have more than our fair share of them at home, but reports last week that six major Chinese companies are considering forming a joint venture company that will purchase primary aluminum and hold it in stock — for what ultimate end use or for how long isn’t clear — but the suggestion is it would support the market price. That stupidity will take a lot to beat.

Indeed, one analyst at China Merchants Futures went so far as to laughably suggest that “if they stockpile 500,000 metric tons in the first half of this year, the Chinese market may have a supply deficit,” according to Reuters.

Let’s Stockpile Aluminum!…