LME aluminium price rebounded to US$1526/t after two consecutive declines; SHE climbed to US$1878/t

The US dollar eased further on Wednesday, June 3, while stocks on Wall Street posted yet another robust day, as better-than-expected economic data bolstered optimism over the recovery from coronavirus-led shutdowns, which outweighed brewing US-China tensions and widespread protests in the US.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback against a basket of major currencies, fell for the seventh straight day and plumbed the lowest since March 12 at 97.1882.

Three-month LME aluminium notched a new 10-week peak of US$ 1,570 per tonne in Northern American trading hours on Wednesday, before closing up 0.42 per cent at US$ 1,565.5 per tonne. Doubts over whether demand recovery overseas could justify the recent rally in aluminium prices will keep market sentiment in check, and the contract is expected to hover between US$1,550 per tonne and US$ 1,570 per tonne.

As of Wednesday, June 3, LME aluminium cash (bid) price and LME official settlement price rebounded to US$ 1526 per tonne after declining to US$ 1499.50 per tonne on Tuesday, June 2. 3-months bid price and 3-months offer price increased to US$ 1555.50 per tonne from US$ 1529 per tonne. Dec 21 bid price and Dec 21 offer price grew as well from US$ 1645 per tonne to US$ 1669 per tonne.

The LME aluminium opening stock stood at 1500900 tonnes. Live Warrants totalled 1295200 tonnes, and Cancelled Warrants were 205700 tonnes.

LME aluminium 3-months Asian Reference Price hovered at US$ 1554.48 per tonne.

SHFE Aluminium Price Trend

Benchmark aluminium price for SHFE climbed to US$ 1878 per tonne on Thursday, June 4.

The most-liquid SHFE July contract rebounded after two consecutive days of decline as it bounced back from an intraday low of RMB 13,040 per tonne and ended the day 0.5 per cent higher at RMB 13,150 per tonne. Domestic social inventories of primary aluminium continued their downtrend despite at a slower pace. Nonetheless, pessimistic demand outlook may keep prices lower at RMB 13,000 per tonne in the near term. 

The most active SHFE July contract opened higher and oscillated in a tight range to end overnight up 0.38 per cent at RMB 13,150 per tonne. It is expected to move between RMB 13,050 per tonne and RMB 13,300 per tonne today, while spot premiums are seen RMB 100-120 per tonne over the June contract. SMM will release its weekly China primary aluminium ingot inventory data on Thursday, which is expected to register another decline.