Aluminum price boosted by tight supply of raw materials & Fed rate cut expectations
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Update time : 2024-08-27 15:33:20
The recent aluminum price is on an upward trend. The LME aluminum futures last week had the largest weekly increase since mid-April this year, and the aluminum contract price on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) also had a significant gain, both driven by the tight supply of raw materials and market expectations on the US interest rate cut for September.
As of 15:09 Beijing time last Friday (August 23), the LME three-month aluminum price rose by 0.7% to US$2,496.50/ton, with a weekly cumulative increase of 5.5%. The October aluminum contract on the SHFE dropped by 0.1% to CNY19,795/ton, with a weekly cumulative hike of 2.5%.
The global supply of alumina and bauxite has continued to be tight recently, pushing the production cost of aluminum and supporting market prices. The supply shortage of alumina is particularly pronounced, with inventories in many major production areas closed to historical lows. If the supply of bauxite and alumina continues to be tight, aluminum prices are likely to increase further.
