FOCUS: LME Al price hits Dec 2016 low; coronavirus fears stoke uncertainty in market

Aluminium market participants remain wary of reduced consumption, logistical backlog and bearish macroeconomics as a result of the coronavirus outbreak from Wuhan city in Hubei province, China.

The outbreak has pressured futures prices on exchange for primary aluminium and have stoked growing bearish sentiment in the secondary aluminium and scrap market. The effect of the coronavirus on global aluminium premiums, however, remains uncertain.
The London Metal Exchange three-month aluminium price closed at $1,686.50 per tonne on Monday February 3 - the lowest since December 29, 2016 - it has since re-bounded slightly and traded at $1,716 per tonne as of 9:15am London time on February 4.
Aluminium's declining exchange price was in focus on Monday, with the Chinese market returning from its holiday and the rest of the world watching to gauge the virus' effect on the market.

"While the full impact on commodity markets from China's efforts to contain the 2019-nCoV virus will only be apparent in the coming months, prices are already looking toward a pocket in demand while the seasonal post-Chinese...

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