10 February 2022 – Aluminium prices are currently in a perfect storm. Analysts even see prices of $4,000 per tonne as possible for 2022. What is behind this? And the base metals on the LME and SHFE are rising, in some cases significantly. Stainless steel spot prices are rising by up to 4% in some cases.
The perfect aluminium price storm
Aluminium prices currently know only one trend: further up. Already on the SHFE, the aluminium price has risen again by more than 2%. LME aluminium closed yesterday at its highest level in more than 13 years and was up again by more than 1.4% at the start of trading.
Investment bankers lift aluminium outlook to $4,000 per tonne
Analysts at Goldman Sachs believe an aluminium price of $4,000 per tonne is possible based on current conditions. The investment banking firm mentioned this yesterday in its outlook for aluminium in 2022.
China: Aluminium availability limited
New Corona measures, production restrictions and new environmental protection measures have already been reported from China in the last few days, which include important aluminium producers.
India: Producers do not have enough coal
In India, aluminium producers do not have enough coal to maintain full production. A serious political dispute has broken out between coal suppliers, aluminium producers and the government.
Russia: Conflict with Ukraine drives concerns
And with Russia, there is still a smouldering conflict between West and East over Ukraine. And thus worries about the availability of Russian aluminium, should an exchange of blows occur here.
Result: The perfect aluminium price storm
This has put the world’s three most important aluminium producing nations under severe pressure. And the European and US producers are not faring any better. The perfect storm for aluminium prices and it is not unlikely that the investment bankers at Goldman Sachs will be right with their prediction of $4,000 per tonne of aluminium.
Base metals continue their upward trend
In addition to aluminium, the other base metals on SHFE and LME continue to rise today. On the LME, nickel, zinc and copper are up at the start of trading. Nickel is moving away strongly with a gain of more than 2.6%. Zinc follows with a plus of almost 2.5%. Copper continues to stand at over $10,000 per tonne on the LME today.
SHFE futures with partly significant increases
The SHFE had already made a good showing. There, aluminium (al2203) is up 2.13%. For nickel (ni2203) by more than 2.3%. And for copper (cu2203) by almost 4%. Zinc, lead and tin are up more than 2% each.
Stainless steel futures and spot prices up again
Stainless steel futures on the SHFE rose again today by more than 1.3%. The Chinese spot market for stainless steel also recorded price increases of up to 4%, depending on the grade.
Latest news:
- Spot prices for stainless steel and steel continue to rise
- Chinese magnesium prices pick up sharply
- Bullish start for stainless steel after Lunar New Year
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Disclaimer: Many things here represent our opinion. Others are information from the Internet. We can therefore never claim to be correct or complete. And never base a business decision solely on the news you receive from us.
