The US dollar climbed up steadily and closed at 94.62 last night. Most base metals fell for the most part with pressure from a strengthened US dollar. The LME aluminium contract closed at US$2130 per tonne on Monday July 23, up from the last closing. The contract tested pressure at the 20-day moving average and touched a high of US$2,081 per tonne overnight, given the prospect of sanctions against Rusal being lifted. It is likely to trade at US$2,050-2,080 per tonne today.
As on July 23, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stands at US$ 2128 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 2130 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 2076 per tonne, 3-months offer price is US$ 2077 per tonne; Dec 19 bid price stands at US$ 2120 per tonne, and Dec 19 offer price stands at US$ 2125 per tonne.
The LME aluminium opening stock increased to 1209275 tonnes. Live Warrants totalled at 1011725 tonnes, and Cancelled Warrants were 197550 tonne.
LME aluminium 3-months Asian Reference Price is hovering at US$ 2040 per tonne.
SME and SHFE Aluminium Price Trend
The benchmark aluminium price on Shanghai Metal Exchange dropped to US$ 2074 per tonne on July 24, from US$ 2085 per tonne on July 23.
The SHFE 1809 contract hovered around RMB 14,230 per tonne during yesterday with support at five- and 10-day moving averages, after jumping to a high of RMB 14,290 per tonne. Shanghai Metals Market expects the 1809 contract to edge down with limited support from the fundamentals. SHFE 1809 contract received support from its bullish LME counterpart and buoyant raw material costs. The contract hit a high of RMB 14,330 per tonne. However, it still lacks strong momentum to achieve consecutive gains. SMM sees it trading at RMB 14,200-14,350 per tonne today with spot discounts at RMB 110-70 per tonne.
Key factors to watch today include the Markit manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for eurozone, Germany, and the US this month, as well as the US home price index in May according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).
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