Shanghai aluminium rises 3% on supply woes, low inventories

Feb 7 (Reuters) - Shanghai aluminium prices jumped 3% on Monday to hit a 3-1/2-month high, following a week-long Lunar New Year holiday, with the market bolstered by supply concerns and as inventories in London touched their lowest levels since 2007.

The most-traded March aluminium contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was up 2.8% at 22,245 yuan ($3,497.48) a tonne, as of 0325 GMT. Earlier in the session, the contract hit 22,305 yuan, a peak since Oct. 22 last year.

Three-month aluminium on the London Metal Exchange gained 1.6% to $3,121.5 a tonne, having earlier hit a peak since Oct. 19.

LME warehouse inventories were at 775,475 tonnes, their lowest levels since February 2007.

The intensifying tensions over Ukraine has also raised concerns over exports from major aluminium producer Russia, while the market is already reeling under smelter closures in China and Europe amid soaring power prices. read more

FUNDAMENTALS

* LME copper eased 0.2% to $9,824 a tonne, nickel was up 1.3% at $23,270, lead rose 0.9% to $2,207.5, zinc dipped 0.1% to $3,609 and tin was down 0.1% at $42,990.

* ShFE copper rose 0.4% to 70,750 yuan a tonne, nickel climbed 5% to 173,510 yuan, zinc fell 1% to 25,035 yuan, lead wad down 2.7% at 14,875 yuan and tin gained 3% to 334,310 yuan.

* Authorities in aluminium hub of Baise city in Guangxi province in southwestern China enforced curbs that are among the toughest in the nation's tool-box to fight rising local COVID-19 infections.

* MMG Ltd (1208.HK) said on Monday that production at its Las Bambas copper mine in Peru may stop by Feb. 20 after a local community blocked again a road used by the miner, prompting the company to curtail operations. read more

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MARKETS NEWS

* Earlier in the session, the euro was near Friday's three-week high, after the European Central Bank's hawkish turn last week, but analysts said further short-term gains looked less likely with looming Fed tightening supporting the dollar.

* Asian share markets mostly eased on Monday after stunningly strong U.S. jobs data soothed concerns about the global economy but also added to the risk of an aggressive tightening by the Federal Reserve.

DATA/EVENTS (GMT)

0700 UK Halifax House Prices MM Jan

0700 Germany Industrial Output MM Dec

0745 France Reserve Assets Total Jan

1545 - ECB President Lagarde speaks in a regular hearing to the European Parliament's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs

($1 = 6.3603 Chinese yuan)

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