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Informist, Friday, Aug. 29, 2025

By Ashutosh Pati

MUMBAI – Futures contracts of aluminium on the Multi Commodity Exchange of India and the London Metal Exchange rose Friday due to concerns about supply. Market participants are now waiting for China's Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index data, due Sunday, for further cues about demand in the country.

Aluminium prices rose after producers warned of supply constraints, Daniel Hynes, senior commodity strategist at ANZ Research said in a note. South32's Chief Executive Officer Graham Kerr said that the availability of cheap, low-cost subsidised smelters in China is shifting, which is providing support to prices. Beijing has capped aluminium smelting capacity at 45 million tonnes per year to rein in power consumption and emissions, he said.

"Outside China, high energy prices have posed challenges for producers. South32 confirmed that its Mozal plant in Mozambique will likely be placed on 'care and maintenance' mode in March. China's top state-owned producer, Aluminium Corp. of China Ltd. (Chalco), echoed that view, saying additions to global aluminium capacity will remain limited in the second half of 2025", Hynes added.

Meanwhile, the US tariffs on aluminium have significantly shifted trade flows at one of the world's largest producers with five smelters in Canada, Barbara Lambrecht, commodity analyst at Commerzbank said in a report. Deliveries of aluminium produced in Canada have significantly reduced to the US and the company is now buying ingots on the American market itself. "Thus, US tariffs are boosting demand for domestically produced aluminium as desired. However, US production capacities are unlikely to be able to meet consumption, meaning that metal will continue to have to be imported, albeit at higher costs," Lambrecht added. 

At 1914 IST, on the MCX, the September futures contract of:
-–Aluminium was at INR 255.00 a kg, up 0.8%
–-COPPER was at INR 900.10 a kg, up 1%

–-LEAD was at INR 181.40 a kg, up 0.4%
–-ZINC was at INR 271.75 a kg, up 1.7%

--NICKEL was at INR 1,334.90 a kg, up 0.8%

Trading levels for the day on the MCX:
--Aluminium contract seen at INR 251.40-INR 258.20
--Copper contract seen at INR 889.70-INR 911.00
--Lead contract seen at INR 180.10-INR 182.80
--Zinc contract seen at INR 266.60-INR 275.50

--Nickel contract seen at INR 1,312.00-INR 1,352.00

End

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

Edited by Deepshikha Bhardwaj

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