SHANGHAI, Nov. 25 (SMM) – Crude oil and gold prices shot up as Russia-Turkey geopolitical conflict escalated. This drove an across-the-board rise in base metals on Wednesday, with copper and nickel leading gains. SHFE 1601 aluminum fell to an intraday low of RMB 9,790/mt after opening at RMB 9,885/mt on Wednesday, due to profit-taking by longs. But the contract bounced back to 9,895/mt in the afternoon on massive long buying, and finally ended the day up RMB 130/mt at RMB 9,865/mt. Trading volumes of SHFE 1601 aluminum were up 20,790 lots to 418,088 lots, and positions were down 4,400 to 195,096. Positions of SHFE 1602 aluminum were up 4,226 to 284,940. It remains to be seen whether the positive impact on base metals from growing geopolitical risks will sustain. Shorts are expected to return.