By Mai Nguyen and Tom Daly
- London aluminium jumped on Tuesday to a more than 10-year high and was on track for its seventh straight monthly gain as output curbs in top producer China stoked concerns of tight supply.
Aluminium prices have been supported by production curbs in key Chinese smelting regions often aimed at easing the strain on the power grid.
A meeting in southern China's Guangxi region, an aluminium and alumina production hub, called on Monday for tougher controls on energy consumption, according to a statement on the regional government's website, sparking fears of more output cuts.
Three-month aluminium on the London Metal Exchange advanced as much as 2.9% to $2,726.50 a tonne, its highest since May 2011.
The most-traded October aluminium contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange increased 1.2% to 21,390 yuan ($3,311.09) a tonne by 0636 GMT, hovering near its highest since August 2008 of 21,550 yuan a tonne hit in the previous session.
"The impact of power and production restrictions in Yunnan is still expanding," Huatai Futures said in a report, adding the addition of other production areas to the list was not ruled out.
Yunnan is a major aluminium hub in China and has seen some smelters forced to cut production due to power curbs this year.
The China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association held a meeting of the country's top aluminium smelters on Monday to address what it described as an "irrational surge" in aluminium prices.
FUNDAMENTALS
* The LME cash aluminium contract was trading at a premium of $25.75 a tonne to the three-month contract, its biggest since July 2018, indicating tightening nearby supplies.
* One party controls 50%-80% of available aluminium stocks and short-term futures on the LME, exchange data showed.
* A union at BHP's Cerro Colorado copper mine in Chile voted to reject the company's latest contract offer, paving the way for a potential strike at the small operation.
* ShFE nickel hit a record 149,870 yuan a tonne and LME nickel advanced 3.3% to $19,640 a tonne on low inventories. LME copper increased 1.3% to $9,529 a tonne and ShFE copper was up 0.7% at 70,180 yuan a tonne.
* For the top stories in metals and other news, click [TOP/MTL] or [MET/L]
($1 = 6.4601 yuan)
(Reporting by Mai Nguyen in Hanoi and Tom Daly; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Subhranshu Sahu)