MARKET TALK: LME Aluminum Nearby Tightness Easing Further

Tightness in the London Metal Exchange aluminum cash-to-February spreads continues to ease, raising questions as to whether a delivery is imminent or heavy borrowers of the spreads are profit-taking against different dates in the curve, a broker says. Cash-Feb trades in a backwardation of $25-a-metric-ton-to-$22/ton, from $29/ton Tuesday. Open interest for the Feb 8 delivery date remains high. LME three-month aluminum trades at $2,712/ton, up from $2,705/ton overnight, with cash at $2,820/ton.