Shanghai residents wanting a new aluminum pot will have to surrender an old one under regulations to curb profiteering and panic buying, the official China Daily said today. The price of aluminum in China has more than doubled since January. Only newly married couples who produce their marriage certificates will be exempt from the old-for-new rationing system, the newspaper said, and those couples will be limited to two sauce pans and one tea pot. It said the rationing would counter the rising price of aluminum caused by a shortage of supplies and ``the meddling of profiteers.'' Aluminum is selling for the equivalent of $4,324 per ton, compared to $1,892 in January. The China Daily said Shanghai speculators have been illegally buying price-controlled aluminum cookware and then selling the utensils outside the city for large profits.
