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Informist, Wednesday, Mar. 4, 2026

 

By Ashutosh Pati

 

MUMBAI – Futures contracts of all base metals rose on the Multi Commodity Exchange of India and the London Metal Exchange Wednesday as escalating hostilities in West Asia have raised concerns about disruptions to key supply chains, according to analysts. ALUMINIUM prices on the LME soared to the highest level since January due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which is a critical route for regional producers to transport metal and raw materials.

 

Military activity has escalated in West Asia following last week's developments. Israel launched a fresh wave of bombing on Iran and Lebanon late Tuesday. In retaliation for the initial attack, Iran has bombed US embassies and military bases in the region.

 

West Asia accounts for nearly 9% of global aluminium production capacity, making the market particularly sensitive to regional instability, Kotak Securities said in a report. "Supply concerns were further amplified after reports of infrastructure disruptions near Jebel Ali port in the UAE," it said.

 

"Qatalum, jointly owned by Qatar's state-owned aluminium producer and Norsk Hydro, started a controlled shutdown of output on Tuesday and said a full restart could take six to twelve months," Ewa Manthey, commodities strategist at ING Economics said in a report. "Hydro also has issued a force majeure notice to its Qatalum customers," she said. Qatalum has a nameplate primary aluminium capacity of 636,000 tonnes.

 

The Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, accounts for around 8% of global aluminium output. "...the region produces only around 3% of global alumina and around 1% of bauxite, leaving smelters heavily reliant on imported raw materials. Alumina's limited storability further reduces resilience. While smelters typically hold around three to four weeks of alumina inventories – allowing them to absorb short disruptions – prolonged constraints would quickly translate into production risk," Manthey said.

 

Extended disruption in the Strait would also choke alumina inflows aluminium exports for West Asian smelters, which would tighten global supply meaningfully, Manthey added.

 

At 1732 IST, on the MCX, the March futures contract of:

--ALUMINIUM was at INR 330.00 a kg, up 1.4%
--Copper was at INR 1,211.80 a kg, up 0.8%
–-LEAD was at INR 189.20 a kg, up 0.3%
–-ZINC was at INR 328.30 a kg, up 0.4%

--NICKEL was at INR 1,615.00 a kg, up 1.4%

 

Trading levels for the day on the MCX:
--Aluminium contract seen at INR 324.00-INR 331.00

--Copper contract seen at INR 1,200.00-INR 1,222.00
--Lead contract seen at INR 188.00-INR 190.00

--Zinc contract seen at INR 324.00-INR 331.00

--Nickel contract seen at INR 1,580.00-INR 1,640.00

End

 

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

 

Edited by Deepshikha Bhardwaj

 

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