London (awp/afp) – The price of aluminum continued to climb on Wednesday, galvanized by the confinement of a production city in China, while the supply chain was already disrupted by environmental measures linked to the Olympics and by the price of energy.
The ton of aluminum reached 3,266 dollars on the London Metal Exchange on Wednesday, a peak in nearly 14 years and close to its historic high reached in July 2008 at 3,380.15 dollars.
Since the beginning of the year, the price has soared by nearly 16% and nearly 60% over one year.
The small Chinese town of Baise has been in the news since its containment started on Monday threatens the operation of its foundries, which could affect its annual production of 2.2 million tonnes of aluminum.
Something to worry investors already panicked by numerous supply disruptions.
Even if production remains at Baise, “we expect the market to remain tight, given that the capacity of Chinese foundries is very limited by the + blue sky + plan of the authorities”, explains to AFP Geordie Wilkes, analyst. at Sucfin.
One of the most widely used metals by various industries, from aeronautics to construction, including food and electronics, aluminum production is very electricity-intensive.
The Chinese authorities have therefore imposed the closure of certain foundries to limit the use of coal-fired power plants during the Games and reduce air pollution.
And in Europe, “the energy crisis, caused by soaring gas prices, has led to the closure of foundries”, adds Giovanni Staunovo, analyst at UBS.
The tensions between Moscow and the West therefore have repercussions on the market, especially since Russia is the world’s second largest aluminum producer.
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