LME aluminium drops after firming up on Monday; to struggle around moving averages

<p>After firming up slightly on support from a weaker dollar and rising crude oil prices on Monday at US$1,904 per tonne, LME aluminium plunged again to US$1,887 on Tuesday, August 1. It plunged below the expected range of US$1,905-1,925 per tonne.</p> <p>As observed by Shanghai Metals Market, LME aluminium should continue struggling around moving averages and range USD 1,903-1,917/mt today.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img style="vertical-align: middle;" src="http://www.alcircle.com/uploads/images/lme2aug.jpg" alt="News" width="517" height="226" /></p> <p>As on August 1, LME official cash buyer aluminium price (Bid Price) stands at US$1,886per tonne, cash seller &amp; settlement aluminium price (Offer price) is US$1,887 per tonne, 3M Bid Price is US$1,908 per tonne, 3M Offer Price is US$1,910 per tonne, Dec17 Bid Price is US$1,953 per tonne, and Dec1 Offer Price is US$1,958 per tonne. LME aluminium Opening Stock stands at 1349125 tonnes, total Live Warrants is 1046800 tonnes, and Cancelled Warrant is 302325tonnes.</p> <p>LME aluminium premiums remain unchanged across major regions globally. As on August 1, LME aluminium premium for the U.S. stands at US$165, LME Aluminium West-Europe Premium stands at US$80, LME Aluminium East Asia Premium remains unchanged at US$15, and LME Aluminium South-East Asia Premium is US$15 (per tonne).&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>SME and SHFE Aluminium Price Trend</strong></p> <p>The benchmark aluminium price at Shanghai Metal Exchange (SME) has dropped from US$2,118 per tonne on Tuesday, August 1, to US$2,112 per tonne on Wednesday, August 2.</p> <p><a title="Report8" href="http://www.alcircle.com/exclusivereport/?m=exclusivereport" target="_blank"><img style="vertical-align: middle; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="http://www.alcircle.com/uploads/images/Report1banner.gif" alt="Report8" width="480" height="82" /></a></p> <p>As seen by SMM, SHFE 1709 aluminium opened at RMB 14,455/mt on Tuesday. The contract fell to RMB 14,400/mt, but then rallied to RMB 14,505/mt. Later, SHFE 1709 aluminum fell back again on short selling, and finally ended at RMB 14,425/mt. SHFE 1709 aluminum &nbsp;is expected to &nbsp;test support at the 20-day moving average and meet resistance at RMB 14,500/mt. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>Spot aluminium in east China market is expected to trade at discounts of RMB 170-130 per tonne over SHFE 1708 aluminium on Wednesday.</p> <p>On Wednesday, market focus should be on US&rsquo;s ADP employment data, and API and EIA crude oil inventory in the week ending July 28. US&rsquo;s ADP employment is expected to increase 190,000 in July on a monthly basis. If ADP is positive, it will send US dollar index up, and vice versa.</p>