LME aluminium rises after momentary ease, cash climbs past $36,00/t; inventories slide

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Aluminium prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME) improved on April 21, in contrast to the previous close. Cash price reported gains by wide margins, futures contracts recovered from the previous session’s decline, while opening stocks continued to slide. 

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On April 21, the LME aluminium cash bid as well as offer price rose USD 23 per tonne or 0.64 per cent. The bid inched up from USD 3,589 per tonne on April 20 to USD 3,612 per tonne on April 21, while the offer price climbed from USD 3,590 per tonne to USD 3,613 per tonne.

The LME aluminium three-month contract followed a similar upward trend. The bid price edged up from USD 3,552 per tonne on April 20 to USD 3,568 per tonne on April 21, recording a gain of USD 16 per tonne or 0.45 per cent. The offer price rose from USD 3,552.5 per tonne to USD 3,569 per tonne, marking a slightly higher gain of USD 16.5 per tonne or 0.46 per cent.

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The trend of the future contracts also showed recovery. Both the December 2027 bid price increased by USD 12 per tonne or 0.38 per cent on April 21. The bid went up from USD 3,120 per tonne to USD 3,132 per tonne, as the offer price improved from USD 3,125 per tonne to USD 3,137 per tonne.

The LME aluminium 3-month Asian Reference Price stood at USD 3,557 on April 21, compared to USD 3,557.5 per tonne on April 20, indicating a mild slip of USD 0.5 per tonne or 0.01 per cent. 

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On the inventory front, LME aluminium opening stock declined further to 386250 tonnes on April 21 compared to 388,850 tonnes on April 20, reflecting a difference of 2,600 tonnes or a 0.67 per cent decline. Live warrants, too, reduced by 1,700 tonnes or 0.5 per cent, reaching 335,000 tonnes from the previous day’s close at 336,700 tonnes. Similarly, cancelled warrants dropped to 48,275 tonnes from 49,550 tonnes, marking another decrease of 1,275 tonnes, or 2.57 per cent.

Meanwhile, the LME alumina Platts price remained unchanged as the previous two sessions, standing at USD 305.26 per tonne on April 21.

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