SHANGHAI, Feb. 27 (SMM) – LME three-month aluminum surged USD 47.3/mt or 2.08% last Friday to USD 2,321/mt, a record high since September 21, 2011, backed by strong short covering with a rebound in euro and New York crude’s marching towards USD 110/bbl. Positions of the contract dropped 2,538 lots while transacted contracts climbed 4,849 lots.

SMM expects LME three-month aluminum to struggle at USD 2,300/mt and move between USD 2,280-2,330/mt during today’s trading as a result of weak demand and short selling at higher prices. The most active SHFE three-month aluminum contract is expected to move between RMB 16,260-16,360/mt. Spot aluminum is expected to trade at discounts of RMB 140-200/mt over the SHFE current-month aluminum price as the latter climbs. Market supply will be sufficient but buying interest will stay depressed. Bargain hunting by middlemen is the only thing the market can expect. Trading consequently will be moderate.