Aluminium falls

Beijing : London aluminium prices fell, as a rally driven by fears of a supply shortage in the wake of U.S. sanctions on Russian producer United Company Rusal looked to lose momentum.

Still, the metal is on track for a weekly rise of around 7.6 percent, having climbed 11.9 percent last week in the wake of the Rusal sanctions, its biggest weekly jump since 1988.

Three-month aluminium on the London Metal Exchange was down 1.1 percent at $2,458.50 a tonne, after closing down 2.1 percent in the previous session.

Earlier on Thursday, it hit a near seven-year high of $2,718. The most-traded June aluminium contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was down 2.1 percent at 14,965 yuan ($2,382) a tonne.

LME nickel, which ended down 1.3 percent on Thursday after hitting a three-year high earlier in the session on fears the sanctions could be broadened to Nornickel , was up 0.7 percent at $15,170 a tonne.