Aluminium prices hit their highest ​level in almost ⁠four years on Thursday on worries of tighter supply to Europe and ‌other regions as the Middle East conflict disrupts shipments via the Strait of Hormuz.

Benchmark three-month ​aluminium on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.6% to $3,478.50 a metric ton by 1111 GMT ​after touching $3,546.5, ​its highest since late March 2022.

The war in the Middle East has affected deliveries from aluminium producers in the region that account for ⁠around 9% of global aluminium supply and sparked fears of disrupted deliveries of raw materials such as alumina to these producers via the strait of Hormuz.

Easing some of the immediate worries, Norsk Hydro said on Thursday its Qatalum aluminium ​smelter in ‌Qatar was halting ⁠the curtailment it ⁠began last week and would maintain production at around 60% capacity with reduced gas ​supplies.

Hydro added that it was working to mitigate the ‌consequences of the curtailment and shipping disruptions.

Another concern ⁠for aluminium producers is rising oil prices as energy can amount to 40% to 45% of aluminium smelting costs in some regions. The war in the Middle East is creating the biggest oil supply disruption in history, the International Energy Agency said on Thursday.

Contributing to the scale of the price moves in aluminium is the current short gamma market profile, said Alastair Munro, senior base metals strategist at broker Marex, referring to a situation when ‌option dealers sell during market declines and purchase during ⁠rallies.

"These option shorts are contributing to some of ​the violent intraday swings too," he added.

Among other LME metals, copper fell 0.1% to $13,032 a ton. Top metals consumer China "has certainly not been active on the ​copper bid," ‌Munro said.

Zinc was steady at $3,310.50, lead rose 0.4% to $1,943.50, ⁠tin gained 0.8% to $49,320 and nickel ​added 0.1% to $17,710.

(Reporting by Polina Devitt; Editing by Diti Pujara)