Three-month LME aluminium ended 11% higher at $1779/t; SHFE declined to $2128/t after three consecutive hikes

The US dollar gained on Thursday, August 27, in choppy trading after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said, as widely expected, that the US central bank would roll out an aggressive new strategy to lift US employment and inflation.

Three-month LME aluminium fluctuated widely on Thursday, ending 0.11 per cent higher at US$ 1,779 per tonne. It is likely to move between US$ 1,760-1,785 per tonne today.

On Thursday, August 27, LME aluminium cash (bid) price and LME official settlement price stood at US$ 1738 per tonne, growing slightly by US$ 1 per tonne from the previous day. 3-months bid price and 3-months offer price hovered at US$ 1776.50 per tonne, down by US$ 2.5 per tonne from US$ 1779 per tonne on August 26. Dec 21 bid price and Dec 21 offer price came in at US$ 1852.50 per tonne.

The LME aluminium opening stock extended its decline further to 1559300 tonnes. Live Warrants stood at 1331775 tonnes, while Cancelled Warrants at 227525 tonnes.

LME aluminium 3-months Asian Reference Price hovered at US$ 1781.68 per tonne.

SHFE Aluminium Price Trend

Benchmark aluminium price for SHFE decreased by US$ 7 per tonne to US$ 2128 per tonne on August 28, following three consecutive hikes from US$ 2115 per tonne to US$ 2135 per tonne during August 24-27.

The most-liquid SHFE 2010 aluminium contract surged to an intraday high of RMB 14,530 per tonne and ended 0.03 per cent lower at RMB 14,555 per tonne today. Open interest increased 2,709 lots to 113,000 lots as investors added their short positions. The basis and the flow of funds will come under scrutiny.

The most-liquid SHFE 2010 aluminium contract settled 0.34 per cent lower at RMB 14,545 per tonne in overnight trading. It is expected to trade between RMB 14,450-14,700 per tonne today, while spot premiums are seen at RMB 30-50 per tonne.