LONDON- Aluminum prices extended gains on Friday on renewed worries about supply from Russia after peace talks faltered with Ukraine, while LME nickel tumbled 12 percent to hit limit down again.
Three-month aluminum on the London Metal Exchange (LME) added 0.2 percent to $3,390 a ton, but was down about 2.5 percent on the week.
“The market is concerned that the Ukraine conflict could persist for longer, so that’s refocused attention on worries about supply for many commodities from Russia,” said Xiao Fu, head of commodity market strategy at Bank of China International.
“The spill-over impact of higher oil prices will have a much larger impact on aluminum than other base metals.”
Oil prices extended gains on Friday after slim progress in peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. They surged nearly 9 percent on Thursday in their largest percentage gain since mid-2020.
Missiles continued to rain down on Ukraine on Friday while a big gap remains with Russia on positions in peace talks for halting the fighting.
