* U.S. lifts April sanctions on aluminium producer Rusal
* Removal of Rusal sanctions mostly priced in -analysts
* PRICES: (Adds closing prices)By Zandi ShabalalaLONDON, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Aluminium prices fell on Mondayafter the United States lifted sanctions on the world'ssecond-largest aluminium producer, United Company Rusal . The United States announced in December its intention tolift the sanctions on Rusal and other Russian companies linkedto oligarch Oleg Deripaska.Benchmark aluminium on the London Metal Exchange (LME) surged to a seven-year high on fears of a supply squeezeafter sanctions were imposed in April, but they ended the yeardown 18.6 percent mainly because of the U.S.-China trade war.
Aluminium ended 2.7 percent down at $1,867 a tonne onMonday, having hit its lowest in nearly a week and erased theprevious session's gains to its highest since Dec. 24."This doesn't have the equivalent shock factor as theinitial decision ... this was largely priced in to the market,"said Macquarie analyst Vivienne Lloyd, referring to the liftingof sanctions.
Meanwhile, the LME lifted its suspension on placing Rusalmetal on warrant after blocking the metal in April. BMO Capital Markets analyst Colin Hamilton said there waspotential for aluminium stocks that were previously heldoff-exchange now becoming visible to the market, which couldcause some near-term pressure on prices.
"However, we remain of the view that, with the market inheavy deficit and demand set to improve, the skew of price riskinto mid-year is to the upside," he said in a note.
Inventories of aluminium stand at 1.3 million tonnes inwarehouses approved by the LME, near their lowest since May2018.There is likely to be little price support from topaluminium consumer China in the near term, with the countryshutting down for the week-long Lunar New Year break next month.Anticipated restarts to alumina production, including atNorsk Hydro's Alunorte plant in Brazil, could keep pressure onprices, analysts have said.The Rusal sanctions helped to boost Chinese exports ofaluminium in 2018 by 20.9 percent as producers plugged thesupply gap left by Rusal. The removal of the sanctions will mean aluminium usersaround the world will pay less for their material, but U.S.tariffs on imports of the metal mean limited gains for thecountry's consumers. In the latest in the Sino-U.S. trade dispute, Chinese VicePremier Liu will visit the United States on Thursday and Fridayfor the next round of trade negotiations with Washington.
In other metals, copper closed 0.9 percent down at$6,002 a tonne while zinc was up 0.3 percent at $2,680after touching a three-month high.Lead slumped 1.5 percent to $2,078, having touchedits highest since early September, while tin closed witha 0.2 percent decline at $20,650 and nickel hit itshighest in nearly three months before ending 1.2 percent down at$11,825.<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Top base and precious metals analysis - GFMS LME aluminium price ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Additional reporting by Tom Daly in BEIJING and Maytaal Angelin LONDON; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and David Goodman)
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