Osaka Mercantile Exchange Weekly Weekly Aluminium Report

yen. On July 27, amid tight supply, spot July contract finished sharply higher at 190.3 yen, up 17.2 yen from the previous day due to short-covering by trade houses and to growing demand from actual users. Higher expiry of spot month encouraged bulls' buying and drove other months up. On July 28, the price of distant month turned lower on long-liquidation by public investors triggered by trade houses' fresh selling in response to the firmer yen and to the fall in the prices in LME. At the end of the week, the prices declined on distressed selling by longs prompted by yen's further gain and the downward trend in LME. January, March and July contracts sank to the day's limit-lows. Market participants in LME looked inactive to build fresh positions as they were uncertain about the effects of the explosion on July 5 at the alumina refinery of Kaiser Aluminum, Gramercy, Louisiana on the supply/demand situation, traders said. At OME, the market sentiment remained bullish supported by supply shortage until the beginning of the week. Despite the yen on the upswing, prospects of the intervention in the currency market by the Bank of Japan faded. If the price-gains both in LME and OME are small, the market will ttract distressed selling, and market sentiment may turn bearish, traders said. This week's total volume of trading was 90,926 lots.