Aluminum futures in the UK rose to $2,815 per tonne in October, the highest in three years, on a backdrop of increasingly tight supply.
Major consumers remained alert to near-term tightness in physical markets due to China's aluminum output cap of 45 million tons, which is set to be breached this year under current capacity.
The move was exacerbated by Beijing cutting the annual output growth target for base metals to an average of 1.5% annually for 2025 and 2026, compared to the 5% target previously, furthering the pledge of its anti-involution campaign to slow capacity for manufacturers in an effort to control deflationary pressures.
Elsewhere, Alcoa announced it will shut its Kwinana alumina refinery in Australia due to deteriorating bauxite or grades.
In the meantime, bets of aluminum consumption in the longer term were supported by corporate pledges of expenditure in new data centers, which take a large volume of aluminum.
