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LONDON, June 1 (Reuters) - Aluminium prices soared to

their highest point in more than four years as Middle East

supply risks escalated after the U.S. and Iran traded military

strikes, traders said.

Benchmark aluminium on the London Metal Exchange was

up 0.6% at $3,690 a metric ton at 0916 GMT. Earlier, it hit

$3,707.50 to match a level hit on May 26 for its highest point

since March 2022.

The Middle East houses 9% of global smelting capacity for

aluminium. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has restricted

aluminium exports from the region and limited imports of the raw

materials needed to smelt the metal used to manufacture cars,

aeroplanes, beer cans and building materials.

Analysts expect a large aluminium market deficit this year,

with some floating numbers above 2 million tons.

"Aluminium remains the standout story," Britannia Global

Markets said in a note. "The extreme backwardation highlights

the severity of the squeeze."

Backwardation refers to the premium for nearby LME aluminium

contracts against those along the maturity curve.

The premium for the cash aluminium contract over a

three-month forward surged to 19-year highs above $100 a ton on

Friday.

Elsewhere, copper prices are ticking up as markets price in

tight markets outside the U.S., which has over the last year

sucked in vast amounts of copper due to expectations for tariffs

on imports.

The U.S. is expected to decide by late June whether to

impose tariffs on copper metal imports.

Total copper stocks in warehouses registered with Comex

HG-STX-COMEX at 640,181 short tons or 580,762 metric tons are up

more than 550% since U.S. President Donald Trump in February

last year ordered an investigation of copper import tariffs.

Expectations of weak mine supply growth have also helped

reinforce elevated copper prices.

Supporting industrial metals overall was expanding

manufacturing activity in top consumer China for the sixth

consecutive month.

Copper was up 1.1% at $13,792 a ton, zinc

gained 0.9% to $3,571, lead firmed 0.1% to $2,018,

tin advanced 2% to $56,500 and nickel climbed

1.1% to $19,280.