Aluminum Higher, Copper Continues Lower as End to Iranian Conflict Remains Out of Reach

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• LME Aluminum 3M Select trades $22.75 higher to $3645.5 0at 8:22:08 AM

  • (Dow Jones) – Aluminum prices rise as the Iran war continues to tighten global supply. Three-month aluminum futures on the LME are up 0.7% to $3,656 a metric ton after earlier touching $3,684--the highest level since mid-May. Preliminary production data from the Gulf region showed aluminum output fell 26.7% in April from the previous month, according to the International Aluminium Institute. With Gulf production running roughly 38% below prewar levels and no meaningful increase in output elsewhere to offset the shortfall, the trade group says the global market is sliding deeper into structural deficit. "The region's smelters cannot replenish raw-material stocks through the Strait of Hormuz and are trying alternate land routes to keep operating," Jonathan Grant, secretary general of the IAI, says. "That equation is now catching up with production in a very direct way."

• LME Copper 3M Select trades $-154.50 lower to $13500 at 8:22:08 AM

  • (Bloomberg) – Copper fell as traders waited to see whether a fragile ceasefire in the Middle East can turn into a peace deal.  Industrial metals fluctuated on Thursday, with copper slipping as much as 1.3%. Iran said the latest proposal from the US has partly bridged the gap between the warring sides, but gave no indication of when it would formally respond.  US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the US was in the “final stages” with Iranian diplomacy, though he also warned that he may resume attacks in the coming days if no agreement is reached. Iran’s supreme leader said that the country’s near-weapons-grade uranium shouldn’t be sent abroad, Reuters reported, citing two senior Iranian people familiar with the matter.  The war has dented the outlook for global growth and spurred central banks to consider raising interest rates, a negative for industrial metals.

• CME HRC Steel last traded at $1075 and $-5 lower at 9:04:59 PM

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