Aluminum jumps most in 17 months to pace metal rally

Aluminum rose the most in 17 months to pace a rally in industrial metals amid speculation that global central banks are prepared to implement more stimulus measures to boost economic growth.

China plans to inject lenders with funds, the Wall Street Journal reported, and the European Central Bank will start within days to purchase assets, said Benoit Coeure, an executive board member. An index of the six industrial metals traded in London jumped the most in eight weeks after the gauge slumped 3.5 percent in the previous two days, the biggest decline since March, on global growth concerns.

“There was some Chinese stimulus news, and any stimulus is good for base-metal prices,” Adam Klopfenstein, a senior market strategist at Archer Financial Services Inc. in Chicago, said in a telephone interview. “There are more rumblings of global stimulus because there’s a lot of pressure for foreign central banks to step up.”

Aluminum for delivery in three months jumped 3.1 percent to close at $1,972 a metric ton at 5:50 p.m. on the London Metal Exchange, the biggest advance since May 3, 2013.

Prices extended gains today after a private report showed that confidence among American consumers rose this month to the highest in seven years. St. Louis Fed President James Bullard yesterday said the Federal Reserve should consider delaying the end of its stimulus program. China is the world’s biggest metal consumer, followed by the U.S.

Alcoa Inc., the top U.S. aluminum producer, last week reported its highest earnings in three years as prices rebounded and demand rose from car, truck and plane makers.

Copper rose 1.3 percent to $6,639 a ton ($3.01 a pound) in London. Nickel, lead, zinc and tin also advanced. The LME index of six prices rose 1.8 percent, the most since Aug. 20.