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The unrest in Middle East and North Africa and stronger US dollar dampened investor confidence, and LME base metals prices were mixed last night. LME aluminum prices kept fluctuating narrowly after opening at USD 2,580/mt, with strong support reported at USD 2,570/mt, and finally prices ended at an intraday high of USD 2,585/mt, up USD 4/mt compared to the previous trading day, or up 0.15%. Total positions increased by 2,325 lots to 714,477 lots.
The stronger LME aluminum prices helped SHFE aluminum prices open slightly higher today, and will help push up SHFE aluminum further, but due to weak spot aluminum market fundamentals, SMM predicts SHFE 1105 aluminum contract prices will fluctuate between RMB 16,750-16,900/mt today.
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