PrintMETALS-Aluminium falls as supply pressures ease; Mideast war underpins weekly gains
BY Reuters | ECONOMIC | 04:24 AM EDT(Recasts, updates prices as of Asian market close)
SHANGHAI/BEIJING March 13 (Reuters) - Aluminium slid on Friday as supply concerns eased and the dollar firmed, with elevated energy prices dimming prospects of U.S. rate cuts, although persistent shipping disruptions via the Strait of Hormuz kept prices on track for weekly gains.
The most-active aluminium contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed daytime trade down 1.4% at 24,960 yuan ($3,623.06) a metric ton. It still rose nearly 1% week-on-week.
The benchmark three-month aluminium contract on the London Metal Exchange was down 1.01% at $3,481 a ton by 0746 GMT, butwas set to end the week up by 1.4%.
Supply fears eased after Norsk Hydro
However, the Middle East war has effectively choked shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, fuelling supply concerns and powering prices of the light metal used in transport, construction and packaging. The region accounts for around 9% of the world's aluminium output.
Price gains were capped by a stronger dollar as surging energy prices fanned inflation concerns and dented bets of U.S. rate cuts.
A strengthening dollar weighs on greenback-denominated commodities, making them less affordable for investors using other currencies.
Additionally, commodities trader IXM is weighing a restart of its aluminium trading business this year, coinciding with some forecasts of a supply deficit of the metal. The Iran war has worsened the aluminium deficit, heightening its trading appeal.
Among other SHFE metals, copper dropped 0.55%, zinc shed 0.6%, lead declined 0.45%, tin tumbled 4.14% and nickel lost 0.9%.
In LME metals, copper lost 1.01%, lead dropped 0.36%, nickel slipped 1.45%, tin declined 2.91% and zinc shed 0.3%. ($1 = 6.8892 Chinese yuan) (Reporting by Dylan Duan in Shanghai, Amy Lv and Lewis Jackson in Beijing; Editing by Sonia Cheema)
