London Metal Exchange aluminium stocks rose to the most since November 2021 after a second big delivery into warehouses in Malaysia’s Port Klang in a matter of days. The huge influx of aluminium into the LME in the past week is fueling fears of a new round of trading games and a potential queue if that metal is, in turn, cancelled and buyers look to withdraw it from the exchange. Exchange inventories rose by 131,075 tons, or 15%, to 1.03 million tons in data reported by the bourse on Tuesday.
Elsewhere, copper prices continued to move higher, trading at over $10,200 a ton to its highest level since 2022, after a powerful rally fueled by forecasts of a growing global supply deficit. Copper prices have defied typical indicators of soft demand, especially in China. That’s partly because investors see tight mine supply creating a shortfall of the metal as early as this year.