Aluminium touches seven-week high on waning stocks
XLB•Aluminium rises to seven-week high
Aluminium prices rose for a seventh session to touch their highest level in seven weeks on Tuesday, as fears of tight inventory and a continued supply deficit boosted the light metal.
Benchmark three-month aluminium on the London Metal Exchange was up 0.54% at $3,335.5 a metric ton by 0300 GMT. Earlier in the session, the price touched $3,350 a ton, the metal's highest level since June 23.
The most-traded aluminium contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 0.62% to 24,185 yuan ($3,586.20) a ton.
Aluminium stocks have fallen sharply, and analysts expect the market to remain in deficit this year.
The U.S.-Iran war has disrupted aluminium shipments from the Middle East, which accounts for almost 9% of global capacity. Hopes of a deal between the two countries faded on Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump demanded Iranian reparations.
Copper also supported by supply concerns
Elsewhere, copper received support from supply concerns too and cooling fears of higher-for-longer U.S. interest rates.
Copper prices on the LME were up 0.14%, while the price on the SHFE gained 0.58%. The cash-to-three-month spread on the LME was in sharp backwardation at $145.5 a ton, signalling tight physical availability.
LME stocks of the red metal have fallen sharply as material is pulled into the U.S. from warehouses elsewhere, as traders consider a potential U.S. tariff on imports of refined copper.
Last week's weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs data saw expectations of an interest rate hike fall, ANZ senior commodity strategist Daniel Hynes said in a note. "Higher rates tend to hit industrial metals by weighing on economic growth."
