LME aluminium climbs up on the news of closure of Aluminij Mostar smelter; SHFE follows trend

The US dollar fell 0.47%, to a three-day low of 97.03. Base metals closed mostly higher. LME aluminium advanced 1.62% and SHFE aluminium grew 1.05%.

The news of closure of Aluminij Mostar smelter buoyed LME aluminium. As the US dollar weakened, three-month LME aluminium advanced 1.62% to finish at US$1,850 per tonne overnight, after climbing above all the moving averages to highs around US$1,852.5 per tonne. The three month contract is likely to hover around US$1,800-1,860 per tonne today.  

As on July 10, Wednesday, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stood at US$ 1811 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 1811.50 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 1830 per tonne, 3-months offer price is US$ 1832 per tonne; Dec 20 bid price stands at US$ 1933 per tonne, and Dec 20 offer price stands at US$ 1938 per tonne.

The LME aluminium opening stock dropped substantially below the one million mark plunging down to 941750 tonnes on Monday. Live Warrants totalled at 634850 tonnes, and Cancelled Warrants were 306900 tonnes.

LME aluminium 3-months Asian Reference Price is hovering at US$ 1825 per tonne.

SME and SHFE Aluminium Price Trend

The benchmark aluminium price on Shanghai Metal Exchange (SME) increased to US$ 2025 today from US$ 2000 per tonne from yesterday.  

The most liquid SHFE August contract advanced 0.44% to close at RMB 13,815 per tonne, near the intraday high of RMB 13,820 per tonne and the 20-day moving average. Short-term longs added their positions on the news of the shutdown of Bosnia’s sole aluminium smelter, resulting in the gains in SHFE aluminium on the day.  The August contract then rose above the 20-day moving average to close at RMB 13,905 per tonne, up 1.05% on the day as investors covered their shorts. The contract is expected to remain at highs of RMB 13,800-13,950 per tonne today.