Nov 19 (Reuters) – Aluminium prices jumped on Friday on supply disruption worry after a smelter in China reportedly stopped production after an explosion.
An aluminium plant in China’s Yunnan province with annual capacity of 300,000 tonnes has stopped production after an explosion on Thursday evening, Shanghai Metals Market reported.
The most-traded January aluminium contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SAFcv1 rose as much as 3.2% to 19,180 yuan ($3,003.45) a tonne, while three-month aluminium on the London Metal Exchange CMAL3 advanced 2.1% to $2,670.50 a tonne by 0407 GMT.
Aluminium has been one of the hardest hit sectors by the recent China power curbs due to the metal smelting process’ high energy consumption.
The electricity curbs in China have slashed around 7% of domestic aluminium annual capacity so far this year, according to estimates from consultancy Wood Mackenzie.
The premium of LME cash aluminium over the three-month contract MAL0-3 rose to $17 a tonne, the highest since Aug. 31, indicating tightening nearby supplies, as on-warrant inventories in LME warehouses MALSTX-TOTAL fell to 587,900 tonnes, their lowest since December 2005.
Inventories in China AL-STX-SGH, SMM-ALU-CON, however, have risen slightly in recent weeks as the power shortage issues eased.
FUNDAMENTALS
* ShFE nickel SNIcv1 climbed as much as 4.2% to 147,840 yuan a tonne, copper SCFcv1 advanced 1.9% to 70,570 yuan a tonne and tin SSNcv1 increased 1.8% to 289,790 yuan a tonne.
* LME copper CMCU3 was up 1.7% to $9,605 a tonne, nickel CMNI3 gained 1.3% to $19,900 a tonne and zinc CMZN3 rose 1.4% to $3,204.50 a tonne.
* For the top stories in metals and other news, click TOP/MTL or MET/L
MARKETS NEWS
* Asian shares fell as disappointing earnings from Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba heightened worries about Beijing’s broad regulatory crackdown and slowing growth in the world’s second-biggest economy. MKTS/GLOB
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0700 UK Retail Sales MM, YY Oct
0700 UK Retail Sales Ex-Fuel MM Oct
($1 = 6.3860 yuan)
(Reporting by Mai Nguyen in Hanoi, Emily Chow in Shanghai and Dominique Patton in Beijing; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)
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