Shanghai Futures Exchange where markets reopened on Monday after a four-day break, aluminium was up nearly 1 percent on concerns that sanctions by the United States on aluminium giant Rusal could hamper trade in some 7 percent of the world's annual supply of the metal. Shanghai nickel prices trimmed earlier losses, down 1.5 percent while zinc prices fell 1 percent, also off lows, tracking a drop in iron ore given ongoing Sino-US trade tensions.
The United States on Friday imposed sanctions against Russian businessmen, companies and government officials, striking at associates of President Vladimir Putin in one of Washington's most aggressive moves to punish Moscow for a range of activities.
Shares of United Company Rusal Plc fell 40 percent in Hong Kong on Monday after it was included in the new list. "Market concerns have that the sanction against Rusal and its own technical default assessment may lead to supply shortage in both aluminium and alumina," said Hong Kong broker Argonaut in a report.
Rusal produced some 3.7 million tonnes of aluminium in 2017, about 7 percent of the world's total, Argonaut said. Its annual alumina production of 11.5 million tonnes was also about 7 percent of the global total, while it produced about 4 percent of the world's bauxite, the broker said.
"It is expected that (the aluminium price rise) will extend further," Argonaut said.
Japan's copper output in the first half of the 2018/19 financial year to March 31 is forecast to rise 6 percent from the year before, Reuters calculations from plans outlined by smelters showed.
Copper speculators upped their net long position in copper futures and options in the most recent week data from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed.