Aluminum prices hit a three-week low due to concerns about slowing global economic growth

On April 7, base metal prices mostly fell on Thursday, with aluminum falling to a three-week low as epidemic restrictions in China, the largest consumer, and the prospect of a sharp rise in interest rates in the United States heightened concerns about a slowdown in global economic growth.

The Shanghai Futures Exchange's main May aluminum contract closed down 3.5% at 21815 yuan per ton, while Shanghai copper fell 0.4% to 73410 yuan per ton.

Shanghai nickel fell 3.23%; Shanghai zinc fell 0.46%; Shanghai lead also fell 0.54%; Shanghai tin fell 1.54%.

16:40 Beijing time, LME aluminum for three-month delivery fell 1.96 per cent to US $3373.5 per tonne, copper for LME delivery fell 0.64 per cent to US $10239.5 per tonne, and lead for LME delivery fell 0.27 per cent to US $2407 per tonne.

Zinc for LME delivery fell 1.57 per cent to $4207 a tonne, nickel for LME delivery fell 2.1 per cent to $32765 and tin for LME delivery fell 1.27 per cent to $43295.

"the decline in Shanghai Aluminum may be as simple as the global market digesting the prospect of more aggressive action by the Fed," said Thomas Westwater, an analyst at DailyFX.

"given that prices are already high and concerns about central bank tightening are rising, I think volatility can be expected to continue. Speculators may see this as an opportunity to settle some of the profits and reopen their positions. "

The dollar index hovered near two-year highs on Thursday as commodity currencies retreated further from recent highs after minutes of the FED/ Fed meeting showed that the Fed was prepared to act aggressively to stem inflation.

"at the same time, inventories of billets and other downstream products have increased significantly due to logistics bottlenecks caused by the COVID-19 epidemic in China," said Xinlin Chen, a senior consultant at Wood Mackenzie.

"in short, increasing aluminium supply, along with limited demand, has depressed market expectations."

China's aluminum trading inventory rose to 1.05 million tons.

Russian aluminum giant Rusal exports bauxite from its Guinean mines for the first time in nearly a month, according to an analysis of shipping data released on Wednesday.

Indonesia exported 6674.91 tons of refined tin in March, up 10.45 per cent from the same period last year, according to the Indonesian Ministry of Trade.