Aluminium Prices on a high while Copper dips

A suspected short-term shortage of aluminium has caused the price rise witnessed on Tuesday while an expected additional supply of copper has dipped its prices in the market.

A 1% rise has been noticed on the London Metal Exchange in benchmark aluminum pushing the price to a closing of $ 2,039 a tonne.

Aluminium price curve is moving forward showing constant signs of supply constraint. In the same line, cash trading on Monday is closing at its highest against the benchmark three-month contract since 2012 December.

In mid-June a sharp decline in discount of cash aluminum was noticed, from $44.25 a tonne to $1.25, indicating that in the future the supply of aluminium is going to be restricted. Standard Bank analyst, Leon Westgate echoes the same prediction stating, "The upward move is likely being helped by tightness in the nearby spreads in aluminium, helping to deter fresh shorts and triggering some short-covering activity,"

Investors are expecting a deficit in the market this year owning to the restricted production and high demand. As a result, a 16% gain in aluminium is seen since late May while three month LME copper closed at $6,865, down by 0.6%.