LME aluminium price drops to find strong support at US$1,900/t, SHFE aluminium struggles

LME aluminium gave up its recent gains and dropped to US$1,905 per tonne Thursday, May 18, from its previous peak at US$1,928 per tonne on May 17.  The light metal traded globally finds a strong support at US$1,900 per tonne. Shanghai Metals Market (SMM) forecast says LME aluminium price will move at US$1,900-1,925 per tonne range on Friday, May 19.

As on May 18, LME official cash buyer price of aluminium stands at US$1,904 per tonne, cash seller & settlement price is US$1,905 per tonne, 3M buyer price is US$1,905 per tonne, 3M seller price is US$1,906 per tonne, Dec1 buyer price is US$1,938 per tonne, and Dec1 seller price is US$1,943 per tonne. The current LME official Opening Stock of aluminium is estimated at 1515400 tonnes, total Live Warrants is 964850 tonnes, and Cancelled Warrant is 550550 tonnes.

LME aluminium premiums, as on May 17, remain unchanged across major regions. LME Aluminium East-Asia Premium stands at US$110, LME Aluminium US Premium is US$215, LME Aluminium West-Europe Premium is US$95, and LME Aluminium South-East Asia Premium remains unchanged at US$15 (per tonne).

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The benchmark aluminium price at Shanghai Metal Exchange (SME) has retraced US$2,014 per tonne on Friday, May 19, up 0.54 per cent from the benchmark aluminium price of US$2,003 per tonne on Thursday, May 18.

At Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE), the most active aluminium future contract SHFE 1707 aluminium fell to RMB 13,905 per tonne after opening at RMB 14,040 per tonne on Thursday, due to short selling. SMM predicts that SHFE 1707 aluminium should move at RMB 13,900-14,050 per tonne on Friday, May 19, as cautious trading is expected for both longs and shorts.

Spot aluminium in China market is expected to trade at discounts of RMB 110-70 per tonne over SHFE 1706 aluminium contract on Friday, May 19, SMM said.

The market focus will be on Germany annualized April PPI and eurozone flash May CCI and Baker Hughes’ oil rig count data that are scheduled for release on Friday, May 19.