Copper prices rise amid concerns over shortages and low inventories

Aluminum prices rose on Friday as an explosion at a smelter in China fueled fears about tight supplies, while concerns about shortages and low inventories fueled prices. copper prices.

Benchmark aluminum on the London Metal Exchange was up 1.6% to $ 2,657 a tonne as of 10:40 GMT, after hitting a session high of $ 2,697.50. Meanwhile, copper rose 1.7% to US $ 9,601 a ton.

“News of the explosion helped aluminum in a knee-jerk reaction”Said an aluminum trader, adding that higher prices would depend on whether the outage continues and exacerbates the shortage. “For copper, the story is still about inventories”.

An aluminum plant in China’s Yunnan province with an annual capacity of 300,000 tonnes halted production after an explosion late Thursday, according to a report from the Shanghai metals market.

A person who answered the phone at the Wenshan City Emergency Management Office in Yunnan confirmed to Reuters that an explosion occurred at an aluminum factory on Thursday night, without identifying the company or providing any other information. detail.

Among other metals, zinc rose 0.7% to US $ 3,181 a ton, lead added 0.6% to US $ 2,228 and nickel rose 1% to US $ 19,840.

Tin, meanwhile, fell 0.9% to $ 38,110 as concerns related to the shortage began to wane.

With information from Reuters