LME aluminum futures hit a one-month high on February 19th, supported by low inventories.

Ambassadors of the 27 EU member states to the EU reached an agreement on the 16th round of EU sanctions against Russia, introducing a ban on the import of Russian primary aluminum. The market anticipates that Russian aluminum exports to the EU market will face difficulties and the supply may be restricted, which has driven up the price of aluminum.

Since the EU has continuously reduced its imports of Russian aluminum since 2022 and has a relatively low dependence on Russian aluminum, the impact on the market is relatively limited. However, this news has attracted buying from Commodity Trading Advisors (CTAs), further pushing the price to reach a high point. LME aluminum futures have risen for four consecutive trading days.

In addition, the LME aluminum inventory dropped to 547,950 tons on February 19th. The decrease in inventory has also supported the price to a certain extent.

On Wednesday (February 19th), LME aluminum futures closed at $2,687 per ton, up by $18.5.