HANOI: Shanghai aluminium prices hit a 9-1/2-year high on Tuesday, as supply concerns rose after an aluminium hub in top consumer China ordered power cuts and output curbs.

The Chinese city of Baotou in Inner Mongolia, a major aluminium producing region, ordered some shutdowns in a bid to meet its energy consumption targets for the first quarter.

CRU analyst Wan Ling said this could translate to a 100,000-tonne annual aluminium output reduction.

The most-traded April aluminium contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange climbed as much as 2.6% to 17,980 yuan ($2,767.90) a tonne, a level unseen since August 2011.

The three-month aluminium on the London Metal Exchange advanced as much as 0.4% to $2,227 a tonne.

"Figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics pointed to strong aluminium production in China over the first two months," ING analysts said, referring to an 8.4% annual rise in China's aluminium output in the first two months of 2021.

"However, investors appear to be more forward-looking, and instead focused on the ongoing production curtailments in Inner Mongolia," they added.