ALUMINUM futures in China climbed to the highest in six months yesterday, supported by a pickup in seasonal demand and tighter supply following production curtailments in the world’s top producer.

    Trading in Asia was slow with the London Metal Exchange shut for the Easter holidays. The London exchange will resume trading today.

    Stocks of aluminum ingots at major warehouses across China fell to 870,000 tons as of Friday from 937,000 tons a week ago, suggesting improving demand, said Jackie Wang, analyst at CRU Group in Beijing.

    Production curbs from December through January and a pickup in seasonal demand following the Chinese New Year in February as construction activity increased boosted aluminum prices.

    “We do not expect to see a sharp increase in production through the second quarter because we haven’t seen any significant restarts among aluminum smelters up to now,” said Wang.

    The most-traded May aluminum contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose as far as 11,830 yuan (US$1,816) a ton, its highest since Sept. 25. It closed up 0.9 percent at 11,740 yuan.

    The price can rise to 12,000 yuan over the next two weeks, said Wang, who largely sees the metal stabilizing with no big increase in production. (SD-Agencies)