BEIJING, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Aluminium climbed on Thursday, outperforming its peers, as lower inventories and signs of improving demand in top consumer China boosted prices.
The most-traded aluminium contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was up 0.73% at 20,670 yuan per metric ton, as of 0231 GMT.
Benchmark three-month aluminium on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.17% to $2,581 a ton.
"Spot (aluminium) demand has showed signs of improvement; that coupled with destocking of some products supported prices," a Shanghai-based aluminium analyst said on condition of anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to media.
Lower aluminium stocks will support Shanghai prices in the face of any potential downside risks, analysts at broker Galaxy Futures said in a note.
Higher global supply, however, capped further price gains.
Global primary output in July rose 2.5% year-on-year to 6.373 million tonnes, data from the International Aluminium Institute (IAI) showed on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, investors are closely watching for cues from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's speech on Friday for a test of bets on a rate cut.
A weaker U.S. currency could help boost demand for dollar-priced metals.
SHFE copper inched up 0.06%, zinc advanced 0.31%, lead gained 0.35%, while nickel slid 0.23% and tin shed 0.68%.
LME copper nudged up 0.02%, nickel inched down 0.05%, lead lost 0.08%, zinc dropped 0.11%
(Reporting by Amy Lv and Lewis Jackson; Editing by Sonia Cheema)
((Amy.Lv@thomsonreuters.com [Amy.Lv@thomsonreuters.com];))
