Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were collectively higher during morning trading on Thursday October 4, with aluminium's price rally continuing after Norsk Hydro announced a full suspension of operations at its Alunorte alumina refinery in Brazil.
The three-month aluminium price has gained just under 10% this week and breached $2,200 per tonne following Hydro's announcement at its Alunorte refinery. Volumes remain high for the light metal, with close to 7,000 lots changing hands as at 10:30am London time. "Yesterday's intraday range and volume were the highest seen since April 23, when the aluminium price tumbled amid news that the US may relieve Rusal sanctions and the wind-down of Rusal contracts was extended to October 23. We note that halting the [Alunorte] operations could affect about 4,700 employees however," Marex Spectron's LME desk analyst Alastair Munro said in a morning note. "Overnight sees reports of alumina rising to highs not seen since 2008, while the aluminium flat price is doing some work in the $2,250 per tonne area with evidence of producer selling. The LME on-warrant stocks have dipped to 605,650 tonnes, a low not seen since 2005," he...