SHANGHAI, Jan. 5 (SMM) – A flood of negative news weighed LME aluminum down last Friday. Most US economic data missed forecasts, sending US stock markets and crude oil prices down. ECB president’s remarks triggered expectations for looser monetary policy, pushing the euro down against the US dollar. China’s official manufacturing PMI fell in December. In this context, LME aluminum dropped to USD 1,832/mt before ending at USD 1,835.5/mt. Trading volumes increased 4,771 lots to 11,676 lots, with positions up 3,355 to 790,932.
The most active SHFE aluminum contract should move between RMB 12,920-13,050/mt on Monday. In China’s spot market, wait-and-see sentiment will dominate, with spot discounts of RMB 0-20/mt and premiums of RMB 0-20/mt expected over SHFE 1501 aluminum contract.