LONDON: Aluminium prices fell further on Wednesday, with producers selling forward to lock in high prices and uncertainty over China’s plan to revive its economy.
Three-month aluminium on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.9% at $2,547 per metric ton by 1048 GMT. It fell 3.3% on Tuesday to register its biggest daily decline in over five months.
A combination of producer selling and long liquidation from funds has pressured aluminium, Marex’s senior metals strategist Alastair Munro said, adding there would be further declines if China could not provide more clarity on its stimulus plans.
A lack of details on new stimulus at a Tuesday briefing by China’s top economic planning unit led to disappointment and steep corrections across equities and commodities.
Hopes are now pinned on an upcoming briefing on Saturday from China’s finance ministry.
Copper hits two-week low as Chinese stimulus disappoints
Physical demand for aluminium however remains stable. The premium for aluminium shipments to Japan was set at $175 a metric ton, up 1.7% from the prior quarter, Reuters reported.
Japan is a major importer of the light metal, and the amount Japanese buyers agree to pay on top of the LME cash price to get aluminium is seen as a gauge of demand from Asia.
The rest of the base metals complex also came under pressure on Wednesday.
LME copper fell 0.2% to $9,723, nickel slipped 0.6% to $17,670 a ton, lead dipped 1.3% to $2,075, zinc fell 2% to $3,028.5 and tin lost
0.4% to $32,745.
American Dollar Exchange Rate