LME aluminium traded lower on Tuesday; SHFE follows suit

The US dollar fell on Tuesday after eight days of gains, the longest in two years, as investors turned to riskier assets on optimism over the outcome of US-China trade talks. LME base metals traded lower on Tuesday. LME aluminium dropped 1.2% last night.

LME aluminium fell further and closed at US$ 1840.50 per tonne yesterday from US$1848 per tonne on Monday. Despite the dip on Tuesday, the US dollar is still at highs and this would continue to weigh on aluminium prices. LME aluminium is expected to trade at US$1,800-1,870 per tonne today.

As on February 12, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stood at US$ 1840 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 1840.50 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 1865 per tonne, 3-months offer price is US$ 1866 per tonne; Dec 19 bid price stands at US$ 2005 per tonne, and Dec 19 offer price stands at US$ 2010 per tonne.  

The LME aluminium opening stock decreased to 1286025 tonnes. Live Warrants totalled at 678375 tonnes, and Cancelled Warrants were 607650tonnes.

LME aluminium 3-months Asian Reference Price is hovering at US$ 1879 per tonne.

SME and SHFE Aluminium Price Trend

The benchmark aluminium price on Shanghai Metal Exchange rose to US$ 1971 per tonne today, from US$ 1962 per tonne yesterday.

The SHFE 1903 contract traded dropped to an intraday low of RMB13,345 per tonne in the afternoon, pressured by a higher US dollar and domestic sluggish fundamentals. The contract closed at RMB13,365 per tonne with open interests up 6,746 lots to 245,000 lots.

The SHFE 1903 contract fluctuated to close lower at RMB13,335 per tonne overnight. It is expected to trade at RMB13,300-13,500 per tonne today with spot discounts at RMB70-30 per tonne against the 1902 contract.