Aluminium retreated on Tuesday, weighed down by profit-taking as U.S. President Donald Trump's pledge ​of a rapid ⁠conclusion to the Middle East war eased supply concerns.

Benchmark three-month aluminium on ‌the London Metal Exchange was down 1.2% to $3,343 per metric ton as of 1030 GMT.

The ​contract touched its highest since March 2022 at $3,544 on Monday as fears mounted over further shutdowns ​of Gulf smelters, ​unable to ship through the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump later on Monday predicted a quick end to the conflict with Iran, while warning ⁠he would escalate it if Tehran attempted to block oil shipments.

Aluminium shed as much as 3.5% earlier in Tuesday's session.

"I'm not sure how much everyone appreciates just how hard it is to start an aluminium smelting facility once it's being ​shut off," said ‌WisdomTree commodity strategist ⁠Nitesh Shah. "It takes a ⁠bit of time. And this is happening at a time when aluminium markets are already ​relatively tight."

"I can't see that aluminium prices should ‌be collapsing very quickly," Shah said, adding that a ⁠projected "wafer-thin" aluminium surplus for 2026 was now set to be a deficit.

In Asia, where spot aluminium premiums have spiked, there was an order to withdraw 98,150 tons of aluminium from LME warehouses in Port Klang, Malaysia , suggesting traders are looking to cash in on shortages of the metal.

The volume represents 21.7% of all aluminium currently in the LME warehousing system.

Meanwhile, copper rose 1.2% to $13,103.50 a ton. "Any sign of easing of tension could drive a little ‌bit more optimism around cyclical conditions. And that's why I'd say copper ⁠is getting a lift today," Shah said.

China's copper ​imports fell 16.1% in the first two months of the year.

Zinc was the biggest gainer, climbing 1.3% to $3,370 due to rising power prices, while nickel firmed 0.2% to $17,515, ​lead added ‌0.1% to $1,938.50 and tin shed 0.8% to $50,030.

(Reporting by Tom Daly; ⁠additional reporting by Amy Lv ​and Lewis Jackson; Editing by Sumana Nandy, Rashmi Aich and Janane Venkatraman)