



Lighter metal, heavier wallets: has the aluminium rally hit its melting point?
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Investors who timed the metal rally well seem to have made quick gains, especially in aluminium stocks. Shares of most aluminium producers are now trading just a notch below their lifetime highs, reflecting enthusiasm in the sector.National Aluminium Co is 0.6% shy of its all-time high.
Hindalco is about 1% away. Vedanta is about 8% below its peak.Over the past year, the rally in metal stocks has been sharp and broad-based.
Nalco has surged 172%, Hindalco is up 65% and Vedanta has gained 75%, all comfortably outpacing the Nifty Metal index, which itself climbed 47% over the same period.Aluminium staged a defiant solo rally in March while most non-ferrous metals stumbled: Tin on the London Metal Exchange led the retreat, followed by copper’s 8% slide and nickel’s 4% dip. Even zinc and lead on the LME couldn't hold their ground, dropping over 2%.
Bucking the trend entirely, aluminium pulled off a massive 13% surge, leaving its peers in the dust.This surge, according to Elara Capital, was driven by supply concerns amid the escalating West Asia conflict, with disruptions to smelters in Abu Dhabi and Bahrain and logistical bottlenecks due to blockades in the Strait of Hormuz tightening supply. Higher gas prices have also raised production costs of gas-based smelters, further firming up aluminium prices, the brokerage said in its 21 April report.The LME aluminium inventory declined by about 49,000 tonnes in March, adding to the already tight supply scenario, the brokerage added.
Read on livemint.com