Aluminum price rises on concern over Russian supply, while copper falls 1%

Most of the base metals They fell on Wednesday, as investors were cautious and reduced their positions after the halt in nickel trading, in a day in which aluminum rose due to continued concerns about Russian supply.

Copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) fell 1% to US$10,102 a tonne, zinc fell 2.8% to US$4,021, lead fell 2% to US$2,447.50 and Tin fell 1.7% to $47,810.

The LME stepped in on Tuesday to calm the nickel market after prices soared within hours to hit records of more than $100,000 a tonne. The LME does not anticipate resuming nickel trading before Friday.

“The market is pausing, trying to take stock of what is going on, and positions are adjusting accordinglysaid Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank in Copenhagen.

Three-month LME aluminum was up 0.7% at $3,523 a tonne at 11:30 GMT, jumping as much as 5.2% and falling 1.2% in a volatile session. .

Aluminum remained in positive territory due to continued concerns over the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which accounts for around 6% of global supply of the light metal.

Russia’s president signed a decree on Tuesday restricting the import and export of goods and raw materials.to ensure the security of the Russian Federation”, although no specific raw materials were identified.

The conflict and ensuing sanctions have wreaked havoc on global supply chains, sending prices skyrocketing across the commodity market.

Russia supplies almost 10% of nickel needs and is also a major producer of natural gas used to generate the electricity that powers the production of metals such as aluminum and zinc.

With information from Reuters