Aluminium prices hit a more than 10-year high on Thursday on concerns over supply of the energy-intensive metal, which were stoked further as several power plants in India were on the verge of running out of coal.
Benchmark three-month aluminium on the London Metal Exchange was up 1.1 per cent at $2,720 a tonne, as of 0334 GMT, aftert ouching $2,732.50 earlier in the session, its highest since May 2011.
The most-traded October aluminium contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange climbed 1.1% to 21,400 yuan ($3,312.18) a tonne. It hit a 13-year peak of 21,550 yuan on Monday, as production curbs.
India, the second-biggest producer of primary aluminium after China, urged utilities to import coal to boost domestic supply of the fuel as coal-fired generation surged after an easing of coronavirus-related curbs.
The inadequate coal supply in India has raised concerns about a potential disruption in local aluminium production.
FUNDAMENTALS
Three-month LME copper rose 0.5 per cent to $9,384 a tonne, while Shanghai's most-active October copper contract fell 0.7 per cent to 69,090 yuan a tonne.
Top metals consumer China released another 150,000 tonnes of state metal inventories to the market on Wednesday, completing a third round of auctions so far this year as it aims to ease the pressure of high commodity prices on businesses.