
LME aluminium eased out after Wednesday's night trading shedding some earlier gains and closing at US$1,871 per tonne, down 1.16 per cent from the previous closing at US$1,893 per tonne on Tuesday. With the U.S. dollar index trading higher ahead of data, the dip was only but a natural outcome. However, Shanghai Metals Market (SMM) believes the contract will refresh new highs through the trading hours on Thursday, February 16 and will trade at US$1,905-1,935 per tonne.
As on February 15, LME official cash buyer price of aluminium stands at US$1,870.5 per tonne, cash seller & settlement price is US$1,871 per tonne, 3M buyer price is US$1,884 per tonne, 3M seller price is US$1,884.5 per tonne, Dec1 buyer price is US$1,928 per tonne, and Dec1 seller price is US$1,933 per tonne. The current LME official Opening Stock of aluminium is estimated at 2220775 tonnes, total Live Warrants is 1612725 tonnes, and Cancelled Warrant is 599275 tonnes.
In China, the benchmark price of aluminium on Shanghai Metal Exchange (SME) has edged up at US$2,067 per tonne on Thursday, up 0.43 per cent from Wednesday's price of US$2,058 per tonne.
Aluminium contracts traded on Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) also came under moderate pressure from a rising dollar. SHFE 1704 aluminum opened at RMB 14,285 per tonne and ended at RMB 14,280 per tonne on Wednesday. SHFE 1702 aluminum closed at RMB 14,250 per tonne with settlement price at RMB 14,225 per tonne. SMM predicts SHFE 1704 aluminum will be traded at around RMB 14,500 per tonne in the short term due to increased inflow of capital in the Chinese aluminium market.
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Spot aluminium in China's domestic market is expected to trade at discounts of RMB 200-240 per tonne on Thursday.
The US dollar index is expected to come down from its recent highs. This will render some relief to the Shanghai aluminium prices.
"The dollar fell back after advancing for several consecutive days, and this will ease pressures on base metal prices,"SMM says.
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