From aluminum to zinc, spot prices for base metals on the London Metal Exchange are all soaring above futures — a condition known as backwardation — for the first time since 2007. Buyers are paying a premium for access to metal against a backdrop of plunging exchange inventories, supply-chain delays, production hiccups and surging demand for industrial commodities in everything from construction to consumer electronics.
Signs of tight physical supply across the metals market are also acting as a counterweight to the growing nervousness about the broader macro outlook for major industrial economies, and particularly top commodities consumer China. In the case of aluminum, spreads have tightened significantly over the past month, even as prices slumped from multiyear highs.
“A big part of the tightness that consumers are facing is down to logistics, there’s no doubt about it,” Nugent said by phone. “But it’s also indicative of very firm demand.”
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