Aluminium at 16-week high, driven by China's stimulus measures

Aluminium prices in London touched a 16-week high on Friday due to a fund buying triggered by the fresh economic stimulus measures in top metals consumer China, reports Reuters.

Three-month aluminium on the London Metal Exchange rose 1.2 per cent to $2,641.50 per metric ton by 1026 GMT after hitting $2,659, the highest since June 6.

Prices of the metals, used in the construction, transportation and packaging sectors, are on track for a 6.3 per cent weekly growth.

Other growth-dependent metals also rallied this week as China rolled out its most aggressive stimulus package since the pandemic ahead of the Golden Week holiday on October 1-7.

Buying by funds, known as commodity trading advisors (CTAs), which are largely driven by computer programs, still continues in aluminium, while the support of this factor in most other metals weakened, said a trader.

The global aluminium market will see a deficit next year, analysts at BofA said this week, adding that prices would trade at $3,000 per ton in 2025.

There are also "pockets of tightness on the physical market, with nearby time spreads closely tilting into backwardation partially because more than half of LME inventories are earmarked for removal," BofA added.