LONDON: Aluminium prices rebounded after touching their lowest in almost three weeks on Tuesday as daily data from the London Metal Exchange showed stocks in LME-registered warehouses had fallen from a seven-month high.
Three-month aluminium on the LME was up 0.4% at $2,246 a metric ton in official open-outrcry trading after hitting its lowest since Dec. 21 at $2,227.
“The price has started to attract some consumer buying,” one trader said. “Stocks have been increasing in the last few days, and now that might have ended.” Total aluminium stocks in LME-registered warehouses slid to 565,275 tons after 4,000 tons of outflows, LME data showed.
The on-warrant stocks fell to 361,975 tons after 27,000 tons in fresh cancellations. On the supply side, producer Alcoa said it would stop production this year at its loss-making alumina refinery in Western Australia.
Meanwhile, spot price discounts against three-month LME contracts remain wide for several industrial metals, indicating plenty of product available for near-term supply and concerns about global economic growth.
The discount, or contango, for copper on Monday was the largest since 1992 at $108.30 a ton while for zinc it hit a three-month high of $26.50.
In China, traders await credit lending and trade data this week to gauge prospects for demand in the world’s biggest metals consumer.
The US currency index edged higher on Tuesday - meaning dollar-priced metals are more expensive for buyers using other currencies - as investors questioned whether market pricing for interest rate cuts this year is justified.
LME copper fell 0.5% to $8,406.5 a ton in official activity. Zinc rose 0.7% to $2,527.5, lead was 0.1% higher at $2,065 and tin was down 0.1% at $24,465.
Nickel rose 0.1% to $16,315 a ton despite LME data showing stocks climbing to their highest level since mid-2022.
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