Aluminium prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange hit fresh multi-year lows this week amid persistently weak demand from consumers in China and abroad and a worsening novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) pandemic - a dynamic that market participants expect will continue in the coming quarter.
The front-month aluminium contract on the SHFE closed at 11,310 yuan ($1,593) per tonne on Monday March 23, down by 635 yuan per tonne or 5.3% from a close of 11,945 yuan per tonne on March 20. The latest close is down by 23% from a peak of 14,700 yuan per tonne on January 15 and marks the lowest daily close since March 2016.Market participants told Fastmarkets that inventories in China will continue to build amid...