SHANGHAI, Dec. 17 (SMM) -- According to data from the US Department of Labor on Thursday, initial jobless claim in the week ending on December 11th slipped to 420,000, in line with market expectation and the lowest for four consecutive weeks since August 2, 2008. Meanwhile, new housing starts in November rose 3.9% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 555,000, higher than market expectation. Although economic data were positive, profit-taking sentiment was strong before Christmas holiday. In this context, neighboring base metals slipped, and LME aluminum prices also followed suit and closed at USD 2,315/mt, down by USD 6/mt from a day earlier. LME aluminum inventories were down to certain extent after delivery.

Today, SHFE aluminum contract price rebounded rapidly along with other base metals after a low open, and SMM expects that SHFE aluminum 1103 contract price will move between RMB 16,500-16,650/mt on December 17th.

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