Research

Forecasts and market analysis based on price assessments from Fastmarkets MB and Fastmarkets AMM

Change font size:   

April 2018 | Aluminium Weekly Market Tracker


LME al cash price plunged 7.8% last week: Market Summary and Analysis


LME stock flows remain busy, which reflects recent Rusal-related developments. Stocks totalled 1.349 million tonnes on Friday, April 27, down from 1.412 million tonnes on April 16.

Last week the US Treasury Department decided not to impose secondary sanctions on non-US market participants for doing business with Rusal, and also to extend the compliance deadline to October. This essentially took away the bullish crux that had supported the vicious rally in aluminum prices, with the supply crunch seemingly alleviated somewhat. Indeed, the latest developments suggest that non-US parties are able to use Rusal metal again and that non-US banks might be able to finance Rusal material again. In the end, the LME aluminium cash price averaged $2,275/tonne last week, down 7.8% from $2,466/tonne the week before, with prices falling as much as 9.4% on a single day (last Tuesday), which was the largest daily decline since 2005. LME stock flows remain busy LME stock flows remain busy, which reflects recent Rusal-related developments. Stocks totalled 1.349 million tonnes on Friday, April 27, down from 1.412 million tonnes on...

ACCESS RESTRICTED

You must be a paid subscriber to view the full content.
Content over 60 days old can only be accessed by subscribers.
Call +44(0)20 7779 8000 with your credit card details or subscribe online.


SUBSCRIBE


Receive unlimited access to all current and archive content going back to 2008 including downloadable pricing data and forecasts. Plus download the latest issue as soon as it’s published.

Subscribe


Already subscribed?