Most nonferrous metals prices gained on Friday, with the London aluminium contract set for the sixth straight weekly gain on supply concerns amid sanctions on Russian metals.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) rose 0.6% to $9,796 per metric ton by 0254 GMT, having hit a two-year high earlier in the session at $9,843.
The most-traded June copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) advanced 2.3% to 79,470 yuan ($10,972.58) a ton.
It hit an all-time high of 79,840 yuan earlier in the session.
LME aluminium increased 1.4% to $2,652 a ton, nickel was up 1.3% at $18,800, zinc climbed 1.5% to $2,853.50, lead advanced 0.6% to $2,194 and tin rose 0.5% to $34,150.
The LME on Saturday banned from its system Russian metal produced on or after April 13 to comply with new US and UK sanctions imposed for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
On a weekly basis, LME aluminium was up 6.3%, on track for the sixth straight week of gain. LME copper was up 3.1% and LME nickel was up 5.7%. Russia is one of the world’s biggest aluminium suppliers.
“Base metals showed increased price volatility over the past week, following sanctions on Russian metals imposed by the US and the UK,” BMI analysts said in a note.
LME cancelled warrants - inventories earmarked to be delivered out of the bourse warehouses - surged for copper, aluminium and lead on Wednesday, latest exchange data showed.
This indicated “market nervousness about the new Russian metal sanctions”, ING analysts said in a note.
SHFE aluminium was up 0.3% at 20,440 yuan a ton, nickel increased 1.6% to 139,610 yuan, lead advanced 1.6% to 17,260 yuan, tin jumped 3.2% to 266,380 yuan while zinc fell 0.3% to 22,695 yuan.
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