MI Comment: Aluminium tips 2800

Aluminium spent all of Thursday in a narrow $19 range, ending marginally up at the end of a routine session. Prices toiled around the 100-day moving average, undimmed by midday dollar strength, with copper underpinning the LME complex as a whole. Nearby contangos remained linear, forward movement was mixed but limited to $0.50/mth here and there, while two parties were still in the 30-40% of the LME's WC warrant banding report. Trading remained thin on Friday morning ahead of the influential monthly US non-farm payroll figures for June. Aluminium inventories rose both in Shanghai and in London, though after reopening at 2782, prices lifted through 2800 to a high of 2803, setting the range of the day so far. Electronic turnover stood at just over 1,000 lots currently. Short term technical trends had 'turned up', wrote Cliff Green Consultancy, with a test of the 2835 area now likely, they wrote. Last at 2796.