London (AFP)

The price of aluminum continued to rise on Monday to reach $ 3,000 per tonne, a new high since 2008, amid production limitations in China and a coup d'état in Guinea, a major producer of bauxite.

The tonne of aluminum, a metal used in particular in transport or construction, peaked at $ 3,000.00 around 05.50 GMT (07.49 in Paris) on the London metals market (LME).

"Prices hit a new high on Monday in the wake of coal," a source of energy for Chinese smelters, said Anna Stablum, analyst at Marex Spectron.

"The lack of coal in China is likely to worsen in the fourth quarter" with the onset of winter and the need to heat the population, which "could push the price of aluminum even higher," warns- she.

The Chinese authorities are also asking certain foundries to stop operating to limit electricity consumption, even as national infrastructure investment plans are boosting demand.

"The political risk weighs on aluminum in China and, more and more, in the European Union", summarize the analysts of Goldman Sachs in a note.

They underline that the price of electricity and the carbon tax also weigh on European foundries.

On the site of the Fonderies du Poitou Alu, in Ingrandes, in Vienne, June 17, 2021 GUILLAUME SOUVANT AFP / Archives

In addition, the demand for aluminum, like that of other industrial metals and, more broadly, raw materials, is particularly high as consumers benefit from the post-pandemic recovery of Covid-19.

Other factors influence the price of the metal, such as a strike in an aluminum smelter in Canada and the fire at a bauxite refinery in Jamaica, said Daniel Briesemann, analyst at Commerzbank.

- Eye on Guinea -

The coup d'état in Guinea, the world's second-largest producer of bauxite, an essential mineral for the manufacture of aluminum, is contributing to the market's concern, even though "production and exports are operating as usual" so far and " the fears may be exaggerated, "he added.

The mining sector (gold, bauxite, diamonds) is strategic in Guinea: these activities represented around 15% of GDP last year and around 80% of the country's exports, according to the World Bank's Macro Poverty Outlook.

This small West African country (13 million inhabitants) in particular has the largest bauxite reserves in the world, with an estimated 7.4 billion tonnes, according to a report by the US Geological Survey for 2020. This is about 25% of the world's reserves.

The Fria alumina refinery, 160 km north of Conakry, August 3, 2012 CELLOU BINANI AFP / Archives

"To get an idea, it takes 4 to 5 tons of bauxite to produce 2 tons of alumina, which then gives a ton of aluminum," explains Ms. Stablum.

And China imported 47% of its bauxite from Guinea, according to the raw materials consultant CRU, increasing its purchases steadily due to a "deterioration in the quality and quantity of national reserves."

After the coup d'état, the junta worked to reassure Guinea's partners of the continuation of activities and of the respect of the commitments made.

The putschists announced the opening from Tuesday of a series of meetings with political forces, civil society and representatives of mining companies to prepare for the formation of a government.

© 2021 AFP