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Illustrative stock photo of aluminum blocks in Gradacac, Bosnia and Herzegovina
By Eileen Soreng
March 11 (Archyde.com) – Aluminum in London was poised to lose 9% on a weekly basis on Friday as investors turned cautious following nickel trading was suspended following an unprecedented rise in prices, amid the uncertainty regarding the supply of metal from the main global producer, Russia.
* Three-month aluminum on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was up 1.5% at $3,480 a tonne by 1030 GMT.
* The metal hit an all-time high of $4,073.50 at the start of the week on concerns regarding the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which accounts for regarding 6% of global aluminum supply.
* The top-traded April aluminum contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was up 2.3% at 21,980 yuan ($3,475.48) a tonne.
* Although metal prices appear to have stabilized somewhat, there is a possibility of a further rise in the coming days in the event of an escalation in the conflict or further economic and financial sanctions being imposed on Russia, Fitch Solutions said in a statement. a note.
* Meanwhile, the LME said it will not restart nickel contract trading on Friday because the criteria to do so have not been met. The stock market had to intervene on Tuesday to calm the nickel market following prices soared within hours to record highs of more than $100,000 a tonne.
* Among other industrial metals, three-month copper on the LME was up 1.27% at $10,245.50 a tonne; while zinc prices fell 0.45% to $3,844.50 a tonne; lead added 1.19% to $2,384 a ton; and tin advanced 1.44% to $44,380 a tonne.
* China’s copper cathode output rose 5.8% in February from a month earlier as major smelters lifted output following maintenance breaks, data from brokerage Antaike showed late Thursday.
(Reporting by Eileen Soreng in Bangalore. Editing in Spanish by Marion Giraldo)