LONDON- Aluminum, zinc and lead prices hit multi-week highs on Friday on supply concerns and on optimism about US interest rate cuts after the head of the Federal Reserve signaled monetary easing was on the cards.
Metals prices joined other financial markets in getting a boost from Fed Chair Jerome Powell saying “the time has come” to cut rates.
“China is still waiting for the US to cut rates, so that could be much more significant,” said WisdomTree commodity strategist Nitesh Shah.
“Once the Fed starts, the PBOC (People’s Bank of China) will be forced to do a lot more because its economy is weak,” he added, referring to the central bank of top metals consumer China.
Three-month aluminum on the London Metal Exchange (LME) gained 2.3 percent to $2,538 a metric ton after touching $2,547.50, the strongest since July 5.
Tight supply of alumina and bauxite have helped to underpin aluminum prices, set for their biggest weekly gain since mid-April.
LME zinc gained 1.8 percent to $2,908 a ton after touching $2,916.50 for its highest since July 16.
The 14 top zinc smelters in China agreed this week to adjust planned maintenance on production lines and postpone commissioning of new capacity.
