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METALS-Shanghai aluminium near 10-year high on Chinese production curb fears

Aluminium prices rose on Wednesday, with the Shanghai contract hitting a near 10-year high on fears that top producer China will limit output to meet its environmental targets.

The most-traded May aluminium contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SAFcv1 rose as much as 2.7% to 18,045 yuan ($2,760.57) a tonne, its highest since August 2011, before retreating to trade up 1% at 17,745 yuan a tonne at 0218 GMT.

Three-month aluminium on the London Metal Exchange CMAL3 rose 0.3% to $2,300 a tonne, having hit its highest since June 2018 earlier in the session of $2,313.50 a tonne.

Traders said there were market talks that China’s Xinjiang region will limit output of aluminium, an energy intensive industry, as the country strived to curb pollution, but there has been no confirmation of such event.

Combined aluminium inventories in LME and ShFE warehouses have fallen 4.5% since a near-three-year high level hit on March 19, but current stockpiles of 2.23 million tonnes were still 43% higher than the beginning of the year. MALSTX-TOTAL, AL-STX-SGH

FUNDAMENTALS

* Russian metals producer Nornickel GMKN.MM will boost output of nickel products at its Harjavalta plant in Finland, betting on an expanding market for electric vehicle battery materials.

* LME copper CMCU3 rose 0.2% to $8,912.50 a tonne, nickel CMNI3 fell 0.4% to $16,095 a tonne while lead CMPB3 fell 0.3% to $1,980.50 a tonne.

* ShFE copper SCFcv1 advanced 0.4% to 66,160 yuan a tonne, nickel SNIcv1 was down 0.6% to 121,210 yuan a tonne while lead SPBcv1 rose 0.7% to 14,805 yuan a tonne.

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TOP/MTL or MET/L MARKETS NEWS

* A gauge of global equity markets extended their record high as bond yields eased after data showed U.S. inflation was not rising wildly.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Mai Nguyen; Editing by Rashmi Aich)

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