LME aluminium price stays above $3,400/t despite a slight dip from the last close as inventories undergo a major shift

On March 10, the London Metal Exchange (LME) aluminium price, amidst the ongoing geopolitical tension and the temporary closure of the Strait of Hormuz trade route, experienced a significant change, especially on the inventory side. Moreover, there is a mixed signal in the futures aluminium prices, but concerning the cash bid and offer, a slight dip is experienced.

Both the LME cash bid and offer inched down by USD 4 per tonne or 0.12 per cent, where the bid shifted from USD 3,046 per tonne to USD 3,402 per tonne and the offer from USD 3,406.5 per tonne to USD 3,402.5 per tonne. However, the price still remains high and has not come down from USD 3,400 per tonne yet.

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On the contrary, the 3-month contract reflected a different trend where the price, from the previous day’s close, has increased by USD 3 per tonne or 0.1 per cent. Here, the 3-month bid moved up from USD 3,385 per tonne to USD 3,388 per tonne and the offer from USD 3,387 per tonne to USD 3,390 per tonne.

A similar shift is also seen in the longer-dated contract, where both the December 27 bid and offer moved up by USD 12 per tonne or 0.4 per cent. At the previous day’s close, the bid was seen at USD 3,177 per tonne, which, on March 10, changed to USD 3,165 per tonne and the offer was at USD 3,182 per tonne, which on the next day, stood at USD 3,170 per tonne.

Also read: Strait of Hormuz closure sparks revised aluminium price forecast, pushing it above $4000/t

The LME aluminium 3-month Asian Reference Price also saw an increase from the last day and is recorded at USD 3,406 per tonne, up from USD 3,385.5 per tonne, showing a difference of USD 20.5 per tonne or 0.6 per cent.

A major change has been noticed in the LME inventory, where the opening inched down by 2,250 tonnes, showing a change of 0.5 per cent, shifting from 456,875 tonnes on March 9 to 454,625 tonnes on March 10.

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The major change is seen in the live warrants and cancelled warrants. This is because live warrants decreased from 372,075 tonnes to 273,775 tonnes, showing a huge difference of 98,300 tonnes or 26.4 per cent. On the other hand, the cancelled warrant rose from 82,550 tonnes to 178,600 tonnes, reflecting a change of 96,050 tonnes or 116.4 per cent.

The LME alumina platts price remains unchanged and on March 10, it stood at USD 302.77 per tonne.

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