Aluminium climbs for 6th straight session as inventory draw continues

Aluminium rose for a sixth straight day on Monday, striking its highest in almost seven weeks, as exchange inventories of the lightweight metal continue to be depleted.

Benchmark three-month aluminium on the London Metal Exchange was up 1.2% at $3,320 per metric ton in official open outcry activity. It earlier touched $3,336.50, its highest since June 23.

ING commodities strategist Ewa Manthey said the recent rally in copper, which hit a six-month high last week, had reinforced the broader bullish sentiment across industrial metals.

“Aluminium’s own fundamentals remain supportive, with exchange inventories still low and the market expected to remain in deficit this year,” she added.

Overall LME aluminium inventories are the lowest this century at 254,900 tons, with available or on-warrant stocks the lowest since April 2025. In top metals consumer China, meanwhile, there was a 13,000-ton draw on Shanghai Futures Exchange aluminium stocks last week.

Chinese end-user demand was weak in the first half of the year but further downside risks appear limited, Citi wrote in a note on Friday. “Low inventory levels leave the market increasingly sensitive to changes in underlying physical demand and demand expectations,” the bank said.

Chinese copper’s share of available LME stocks falls to 42% in July

Unlike with copper, there is no huge aluminium exchange inventory cushion in the U.S., with just 5 tons sitting in Owensboro, Kentucky on the COMEX.

The U.S. government will invest $3 billion in critical minerals and battery projects as part of a push to increase domestic production and boost national security and industrial policy, President Donald Trump said on Friday.

LME copper, meanwhile, gained 0.5% to $14,150 a ton, consolidating above $14,000 after posting its strongest weekly gain since May last week.

“Copper continues to be supported by tight physical markets, low inventories, and ongoing supply concerns,” Manthey said.

Elsewhere, zinc added 0.4% to $3,720, lead gained 0.7% to $1,900, nickel edged down 0.2% to $16,970 and tin climbed 1.2% to $56,150.