Reuters
17 Mar 2022
LONDON: Aluminium prices rose on Thursday as hopes of economic stimulus in China, the biggest consumer, lifted global stock markets while the London Metal Exchange’s efforts to restart nickel trading remained chaotic.
Benchmark aluminium on the LME was up 2.2% at $3,328.50 a tonne by 1217 GMT. Prices have see-sawed since Ukraine was invaded by Russia, which produces 6% of global supply, hitting $4,073.50 on March 7 and $3,219.50 on March 15.
“There are visible signs of China decelerating and that is likely to hit overall demand,” said WisdomTree analyst Nitesh Shah.
Against that, demand for both aluminium and copper is likely to be boosted as energy transition comes into sharper focus, especially in Europe, Shah said.
He added that industrial metals are expected to be undersupplied “pretty much across the board” this year and predicted higher prices.