The raw material prices are rising.
The common metal aluminum is also becoming increasingly expensive.
The price for delivery in three months rose to $ 2,629 a ton on the London Metal Exchange, approaching the $ 2,800 it paid for it ten in May.
In Shanghai, 20,590 yuan was last paid for a bin.
This is the highest value since 2008. The price increase of 32 percent this year is only exceeded by the increase in the price of tin among industrial metals.
But it is not just a higher demand that is causing the price of aluminum to rise. Observers also see bottlenecks in the supply. As is so often the case, it is about China, once again the largest producer in this area. On the one hand, it is suspected that the Middle Kingdom could throttle production in order to reduce emissions, on the other hand, the electricity rationing there will probably ensure that less aluminum is produced there. A major fire in a Jamaican alumina refinery should also push the surcharges for aluminum deliveries in the American Midwest to new highs.
It is currently not easy for traders on London's leading metal exchange. The stocks of some metals recorded there have reached record low levels, reports the Bloomberg news agency. This week there were real panic buying of lead, of which there was as little as since 2009. The reason are obstacles in the supply chains. Excess metal from China does not find its way to buyers in other parts of the world. Lead inventories on the Chinese stock exchanges have risen to a record level, increasing almost sixfold in the past year.
In the case of some metals, this primarily drove the price differences between goods for immediate delivery and for forward deliveries to the highest value since at least 1998.
While a ton of lead for delivery in three months last cost around 2294 dollars, immediate delivery had to be paid for 2492 dollars.
This also explains the sharp rise in the price of tin: There was a similar supply crisis here at the beginning of the year.
The situation is only pleasant for the warehouse keepers, of whom there are only a few: at least 90 percent of the freely available LME stocks were recently held by only two parties, reports Bloomberg.
However, the developments only affect consumers in part. There is actually enough lead and it is temporary disturbances that are pushing the price up in London. If, on the other hand, China actually throttles aluminum production, this is likely to have an impact on the price of many products, since the metal cannot be replaced immediately.