BEIJING, April 10 (Reuters) - London aluminium prices rose
for a third session on Tuesday, striking a five-week high, as
U.S. sanctions on Russian producer United Company Rusal
continue to fuel concerns over supply.
London aluminium is up 6.9 percent over the past three
trading days, whereas aluminium prices in top producer China
have risen only 1.9 percent since the Rusal sanctions were
announced on Friday.
"The (Chinese) domestic market is very clearly in a
surplus," said CLSA analyst Victor You, adding that Shanghai
aluminium prices were likely rising solely because of the London
Metal Exchange (LME) price gains.
China imported only 14,631 tonnes of primary aluminium from
Russia in 2017, according to Chinese customs data, although
Russia was still its top foreign supplier of the metal.
FUNDAMENTALS
* LME ALUMINIUM: Three-month aluminium on the London Metal
Exchange was up 0.4 percent at $2,148.50 a tonne by 0415
GMT, having jumped 4.8 percent in the previous session, its
biggest daily jump since November 2011. It earlier touched
$2,151 a tonne, the highest since March 6.
* SHFE ALUMINIUM: The most-traded May aluminium contract on
the Shanghai Futures Exchange climbed 1 percent to
14,275 yuan ($2,267.13) a tonne by the mid-session interval. It
earlier hit 14,345 yuan a tonne, the highest since March 7.
* ARB: The arbitrage between ShFE and LME aluminium prices,
which has helped keep Chinese aluminium exports buoyant in
recent months, narrowed by more than 100 yuan to a discount of
1,356.97 yuan a tonne on Tuesday.
* ALUMINIUM: Rio Tinto will be among the
biggest winners from the U.S. sanctions imposed on Russian
aluminium giant United Company Rusal as the penalties
further shake up the global metals trade and boost costs for
U.S. consumers, industry sources said on Monday.
* COLUMN: U.S. sanctions on Rusal threaten aluminium
turmoil: Andy Home.
* CHINA: Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday promised to
open the country's economy further and lower import tariffs on
products including cars, in a speech that struck a conciliatory
tone on the rising trade tensions between China and the United
States.
* COPPER: Three-month copper in London was up 0.8
percent at $6,886 a tonne, extending a 0.9 percent gain on
Monday, while Shanghai copper climbed 1.2 percent to
50,930 yuan a tonne.
