Aluminum price hits highest level since April 2018 on China curbs

Aluminum prices jumped on Friday to their highest in more than three years as worries about supplies from top producer China escalated after the country’s Xinjiang region imposed output limits on five smelters.

Benchmark aluminum on the London Metal Exchange was up 1.5% at $2,658 a tonne midday Friday. Earlier in the session, prices touched $2,664.5, the highest since April 2018.

“It’s all to do with China and output curbs, which are mostly to do with cutting emissions, unusual in the summer months,” an aluminum trader said.