* Aluminium falls as supply fears abate
* LME/ShFE arb:
* GRAPHIC-2018 asset returns: (Updates with closing prices)By Jan HarveyLONDON, April 27 (Reuters) - Aluminium fell on Friday aftersources said sanctions-hit Russian producer Rusal willoverhaul its management structure to restore shipments, furtherdampening fears of a supply shortfall.
The metal was set for its biggest weekly drop in seven yearsas investors scaled back bets that the sanctions, which sentaluminium to its highest since 2011 last week, would hurtavailability.It fell sharply from its April 19 peak after the UnitedStates on Monday gave American customers of Rusal more time tocomply with sanctions, though it rebounded as the week wore on. "It's a bit of a rollercoaster but the clear message is thatboth sides are trying to work out a way to avoid sanctions onRusal," said Capital Economics analyst Caroline Bain."We had signs of that from the U.S. side this week, and nowit looks as though Russia (and) Rusal are also making efforts toat least soften the blow."This month's sharp price swings still leave the metal upnearly 12 percent in April, its biggest monthly rise in nearlyeight years.
LME ALUMINUM: Three-month aluminium on the London MetalExchange closed 2.2 percent down at $2,225 a tonne. Ithas fallen more than 9 percent this week. RUSAL: The world's second-biggest aluminium producer willoverhaul its board and management in the hope of persuading theUnited States to lift sanctions, but it may be forced to suspendaluminium exports for good if the plan fails, sources close tothe company said. ALUMINIUM INVENTORIES: On-warrant aluminium stocks - thosenot earmarked for delivery and available to the market - rose by12,475 tonnes to 930,125 tonnes, exchange data showed on Friday.ALUMINIUM TECHNICALS: A break in aluminium prices belowsupport at $2,260 could cause a loss to $2,195, said Reuterstechnical analyst Wang Tao. COLUMN: U.S. sanctions on Rusal shatter aluminium's supplychain: Andy Home COPPER: Industrial metals bellwether copper did nottrade at the close but was bid down 2.4 percent at $6,796 atonne, suffering from the impact of a firmer dollar, which makesmetals expensive for holders of other currenciesESCONDIDA: Chile's Escondida, the world's largest coppermine, said on Thursday that early contract talks with itsworkers' union ended without an agreement, setting the stage forlegally scheduled negotiations to begin in June. OTHER METALS: LME zinc ended 0.5 percent down at$3,121 a tonne, lead finished 0.4 percent up at $2,346,nickel was bid down 2.3 percent at $13,875 and tin closed with a 2.3 percent decline at $20,900.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Top Base and Precious Metals Analysis - GFMS ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Additional reporting by Zandi Shabalala and Peter Hobson inLondon and Tom Daly in BeijingEditing by William Maclean and David Goodman)