Gold Silver Reports (GSR) – Base Metals Prices Broadly Down, Aluminium Runs into Profit-Taking; LIVE FUTURES REPORT — The most-traded June aluminum contract on the SHFE traded at 14,850 yuan ($2,363) per tonne as of 11.30am Shanghai time, down by 70 yuan per tonne from Tuesday’s close.
Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mostly down during Asian morning trading on Wednesday April 18 after the generally positive Chinese data released yesterday failed to motivate investors to chase prices higher.
Meanwhile, aluminium succumbed to profit-taking after its recent run of sanction-driven strength.
Investors generally remain concerned about the availability of aluminium after the United States imposed sanctions on Russian aluminium producer UC Rusal on April 6. Rusal is responsible for 7% of global aluminium production.
The London Metal Exchange’s three-month aluminium price has risen around 18% since April 6.
A surge in LME aluminium stocks on Tuesday, however, has prompted some investors to take profits this morning. Inventories climbed 52,125 tonnes to 1,412,400 tonnes.
Yet any downside in aluminium should be fairly limited with the emergence of concerns about tightening raw material supply.
“Aluminium producers are now worried about raw material availability, with Rusal being a large producer of aluminium feed, alumina,” ANZ Research noted on Wednesday. – Neal Bhai Reports (NBR)
