Aluminum Falls from 4-Month High

Aluminum futures pulled back to below $2,600 per tonne from the four-month-high of $2,670 touched on July 24th, tracking the pullback for other base metals as markets recalibrated their expectations of fiscal support from the Chinese government, limiting forecasts of industrial expansion. The Chinese government signaled that it will continue to maintain loose fiscal and monetary conditions to compound the series of manufacturing projects commissioned to aid activity, but refrained from signaling targeted stimulus measures directly for consumers. Still, Chinese output was due to slow this year as the current production pace is on pace to be bound by the annual cap of 45 million tons, initially mandated to aid carbon emission targets. This coincided with higher demand in Europe as EU members raise investment in defense. Supply for European factories is already limited due to sanctions of major producer Russia.