SHANGHAI, Nov. 4 (SMM) – LME aluminum rose to USD 1,877/mt after opening at USD 1,865/mt last Friday, buoyed by upbeat China manufacturing PMI for October. However, the US dollar index climbed to 80.75 as strong US manufacturing PMI rekindled concerns that the US Federal Reserve may begin to trim its bond-buying program earlier than expected. This caused LME aluminum to wipe out earlier gains and lose support at the 60-day moving average. Finally, the light metal closed down USD 21/mt or 1.13% at USD 1,841/mt. Trading volumes added 1,017 lots to 14,954 lots, and positions also increased 4,073 lots to 750,689 lots.

A stronger US dollar and falling LME aluminum will cause SHFE 1401 aluminum contract, the most active one, to open lower at RMB 14,370/mt on Monday, with prices expected between RMB 14,340-14,410/mt. In spot markets, falling inventories will lend support to spot aluminum prices, with a premium of RMB 0-40/mt expected over SHFE 1311 aluminum contracts.