MARKET TALK: Post-Options Selling Dents LME Aluminum

Options expiry earlier this week left a number of London Metal Exchange aluminum players "more long than they had expected," a broker notes, and this accounts for some of the liquidation being seen. Large volumes of business were seen with a move below $2650 a metric ton triggering significant selling on stop, before 1400 lots traded at $2620/ton and the market rallied, he says. "It's not been a good time of late for a number of speculative players," the broker adds. LME aluminum trades last at $2685/ton, up 3% from Thursday's low.