|

Aluminium: Bulls keep reins at decade high above $2,750, Guinea eyed

  • Aluminium remains firmer around multi-day tops on geopolitical issues, USD weakness.
  • Guinea’s political turmoil, receding odds of Fed’s tapering favour bulls.
  • US traders’ return, risk catalysts eyed for near-term directions.

Aluminium prices on London Metal Exchange (LME) jumped to the highest since May 2011 the previous day, around $2,770 per tonne, on political turmoil in the world’s second-largest raw material bauxite producer Guinea.

The Financial Times (FT) mentions the military coup in the African nation that overthrown President Alpha Conde on Sunday. The news also said, “Guinea supplies about 25 per cent of the world’s bauxite, mostly to China and Russia.”

Reuters quote prices in China at 18 months high of around $50.50, up 16% in 2021 while saying, “The unrest did not have any immediate impact on bauxite operations, which are key to Guinea's economy as its main foreign currency earner. The country produced 88 million tonnes of bauxite last year, according to mines ministry statistics.”

In addition to the geopolitical tensions, the US dollar weakness also underpins the commodity bulls. That said, the US Dollar Index (DXY) drops back towards 92.00, down 0.08% intraday after marking a corrective pullback from the monthly low the previous day.

Behind the US dollar pullback could be the market’s cautious optimism over adjustments of the monetary policies at the key central banks as the virus concerns challenge economic recovery.

Amid these plays, S&P 500 Futures and US 10-year Treasury yields print mild gains at the latest.

Moving on, market players will keep their eyes on the US and Canadian traders’ return after Monday’s Labour Day off. The US dollar’s reaction to the latest developments will be vital for the aluminium traders as the geopolitical tension in Guinea may recede soon.

Author

Anil Panchal

Anil Panchal

FXStreet

Anil Panchal has nearly 15 years of experience in tracking financial markets. With a keen interest in macroeconomics, Anil aptly tracks global news/updates and stays well-informed about the global financial moves and their implications.

More from Anil Panchal
Share:

Editor's Picks

GBP/USD: Daily gains remain capped by 1.3650

GBP/USD leaves behind Monday’s pessimism and advances marginally on Tuesday. Cable’s humble gains, however, appear to have met quite a decent resistance in the 1.3650 zone for now, in a context of a slight selling pressure hovering around the Greenback.

EUR/USD picks some pace, retests 1.1670

EUR/USD advances modestly and revisits the 1.670 zone on turnaround Tuesday. The pair’s slight advance comes after two daily drops in a row and follows the humble decline in the US Dollar, while investors gear up for upcoming US data and the Jackson Hole Symposium.

Gold treads water around $4,650

Gold navigates the middle of its daily range near $4,650 per troy ounce on Tuesday. The lack of clear direction in the yellow metal comes on the back of the widespread cautious tone among market participants, a mildly offered stance in the US Dollar and a marked decline in US Treasury yields across the curve.

Crypto Today: Bitcoin soars past $80K as Ethereum and XRP hold gains

Bitcoin (BTC) is trading above $80,000 on Tuesday. This is the highest level the Crypto King has traded since mid-May, underscoring a positive shift in investors' risk-on sentiment, liquidity conditions and the technical outlook.

Nvidia earnings: A quick look at expectations

The 2026 Q2 earnings season is nearly over for S&P 500 members, with the reporting cycle notably positive. But looming large this week is none other than AI-favorite NVIDIA (NVDA) , whose results will wrap up the reporting cycle for the Magnificent Seven group as well.

$20 billion offered, $2 billion taken: Why Treasury doubled its buyback cap

The US Treasury moved off its own calendar on Wednesday, and that is the part worth sitting with. At 12:32 GMT, the department said it would at least double the size of liquidity support buyback operations in the 10-year to 20-year and 20-year to 30-year sectors, lifting the maximum from $2 billion per operation to at least $4 billion, effective September 9 and running to November 4.