Deusche Bank, Lehman Brothers, UBS Lifted Estimated Aluminum Price

Deusche Bank raised 8 percent of the estimated aluminum price in 2008 to $2,883 per ton last friday, as well as 13 percent in 2009 to $3,031 per ton. The bank said the current base metals prices will be backed by the tight market supply and uncertain energy supply. Meanwhile, Lehman Brothers upgraded the estimated aluminum price in 2008 to $1.30 per pound and that of 2009 to $1.25 per pound on the same day, saying ‘as prices are related with production cost, so if economy goes into soft, aluminum price will suffer much less downgoing risk compared with other commodities.’ And UBS lifted the estimated aluminum price in 2008 from $1.24 per pound to $1.45 per pound and that of 2009 and 2010 respectively to $1.60 per pound and $2.00 per pound, relatively from $1.30 and $1.4 per pound. The bank also uplifted the target price of Alcoa Inc. from $41 to $52 and investment rating to ‘buy’ as based on the estimated price lifting.