A potential easing of trade tensions between the United States and Canada could reshape the North American aluminum market, with European buyers facing the risk of stronger competition for Canadian metal. Import data from ITC Trade Map shows that US purchases of Canadian unwrought aluminum fell sharply in 2025, while imports from Canada increased across six European markets, highlighting how trade flows have evolved amid tariff uncertainty. The United States imported approximately 2.03 million metric tons of unwrought aluminum from Canada in 2025, down 25.9% from 2.74 million metric tons in 2024. The decline amounted to around 711,494 metric tons over the year. Import value also decreased, falling 22.2% from $7.82 billion to $6.09 billion. The figures come as the possibility of a...
Century Aluminum’s proposed USD 4 billion primary aluminum smelter in Inola, Oklahoma, is “moving forward on all fronts” as the company prepares for construction, despite local opposition and legal challenges, CEO Jesse Gary said during the company’s third-quarter earnings call. Developed jointly by Century Aluminum and Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), the project is designed to produce 750,000 tonnes of primary aluminum annually, potentially doubling U.S. primary aluminum production. The facility is expected to create thousands of direct and indirect jobs and add USD 1.5 billion to Oklahoma’s gross domestic product, according to company estimates. The partners had targeted construction to begin by the end of 2026. However, local restrictions and permitting challenges have affected the...
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The US dollar rallied to a three-week high on Friday. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies, gained 0.23% and ended at 98.37. LME base metals and the SHFE complex mostly declined. LME aluminium lost 0.17% and SHFE aluminium dropped 0.25%. LME aluminium closed last week at US$ 1827.5 per tonne, the highest in the week. Trade uncertainties drove aluminium prices to pull back, with three-month LME aluminium ending down at US$1,807.5 per tonne. LME aluminium is likely to trade at US$1,790-1,805 per tonne today. As on November 8, Friday, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stood at US$ 1827 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 1827.50 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 1818 per tonne, 3-months offer price is US$ 1820 per tonne;...
According to a report from Shanghai Metals Market, China last week issued a fresh batch of metal scrap import quotas for the fourth quarter of 2019, reducing the permissible amount to 13,770 tonnes of newly restricted high-grade aluminium scrap. Together with the previous batches of quotas which allowed the imports of 77,875 tonnes of 7602000090 aluminium scrap into the Chinese market, the amount permitted now comes to 91,645 tonnes in total for the fourth quarter. This brings the permissible amount significantly down from 274,955 tonnes in the third-quarter quotas, SMM calculated based on the list released by the Solid Waste and Chemical Management Centre. The decline came in line with market expectations that Chinese authorities would further intensify waste import restrictions in the...
The average spot alumina price declined by RMB 7 per tonne or 0.27 per cent on Monday, 11 November 2019 from Friday’s price of RMB 2579 per tonne. Alumina price in China stood at RMB 2572 per tonne today. Source: Shanghai Metals Market Alumina prices in East and Central markets fell by RMB 15 per tonne and RMB 10 per tonne to stand at RMB 2590 per tonne each. Their average prices are expected to range at RMB 2580- 2600 per tonne and RMB 2580-2600 per tonne. The alumina prices in North and South remained unchanged at RMB 2570 per tonne and RMB 2520 per tonne. A00 aluminium ingot price was down by RMB 130 per tonne on Monday, after two days of increase. The price stood at RMB 14100 per tonne and expected to move within a range of RMB 14080-14120 per tonne. Spot aluminium price is likely to...
Emirates Global Aluminium, on Thursday, November 10, reportedly announced that the first Capsize vessel sailed from its bauxite mining subsidiary Guinea Alumina Corporation in the Republic of Guinea. Operated by shipping line Berge Bulk, the vessel, the MV Berge Rosa, is bound for a customer in India loaded with 173,000 tonnes of bauxite ore. Bauxite exports from GAC began in August, but so far used smaller vessels. Last year, Emirates Global Aluminium had signed a long-term logistics agreement with Louis Dreyfus Ports Limited and Abu Dhabi Ports Company to develop a barging and transhipment service in deeper waters offshore Kamsar, so to be able to transfer bauxite to Capesize vessels for ocean shipping. Abdulla Kalban, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of EGA, said: “Using...
After China, GCC (Gulf Corporation Council) or the Gulf countries are substantially growing in primary aluminium production. In 2017, the total primary aluminium production volume in the Gulf region was 5.14 million tonnes, which in 2018 grew by 5 per cent to 5.4 million tonnes. According to the Gulf Aluminium Council (GAC) estimation, the output is likely to increase further to 5.7 million tonnes by 2019. The growing demand for aluminium across the world is the primary driving force for this growth in the Gulf aluminium market, according to GAC. Besides, the constant efforts of the GCC countries to make a shift towards the non-oil sector, especially the aluminium industry, is another important factor. The top five aluminium producers that have primarily contributed to the transition of...
Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) has certified Companhia Brasileira de Alumínio (CBA) against ASI Performance Standard and Chain of Custody Standard. CBA has achieved Certification for several of its facilities in Brazil, including the largest integrated plant worldwide. The Certifications covers three bauxite mines in the state of Minas Gerais; an alumina refinery, a smelter and associated potlines, casthouses, anode production, SPL treatment plant and downstream productions, and the CBA headquarters. The downstream activities at the São Paolo operations include sheet and foil production as well as profile extrusion. The ASI Certification program is the only comprehensive voluntary sustainability standard initiative for the aluminium value chain. The independent, third-party audit...
Brewers and other canned drink makers in the U.S. are pushing the U.S. government to take a stand in determining aluminium price as the key benchmark for aluminium has not dropped much despite the lifting of tariffs. The Beer Institute supported House panel’s call for a Government Accountability Office study of aluminium markets and urging Congress to pass a bill known as the Aluminum Pricing Examination Act. The APEX Act aims to give “exclusive jurisdiction over the setting of reference prices for aluminium premiums” to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Beverage companies are affected by S&P Global’s SPGI, +0.87% Midwest Premium, which is raising the cost of aluminium cans. The heads of the Beer Institute and American Beverage Association criticised the Midwest Premium last...
The US exports of crude metal and alloys increased 4.92% to 19,200 tonnes in August, as compared to 18,300 tonnes in July, according to the latest Mineral Industry Survey report from the US Geological Survey. Exports climbed by 1.05% from June’s exports of 19,000 tonnes, but reduced by 8.13% from May’s exports of 20,900 tonnes and 11.93% from April’s exports of 21,800 tonnes. Crude metal and alloys exports in the US totalled 161,000 tonnes in the first eight months of 2019. The US exports of total aluminium including scrap stood at 259,000 tonnes in August, up by 5.71% from 245,000 tonnes in July, 4.86% from 247,000 tonnes in June and 0.78% from 257,000 tonnes in May, but down 4.43% from 271,000 tonnes in April. Total exports amounted to 2 million tonnes in the first eight months of this...
As reported by Argus raw material spreads for US producers of secondary aluminium alloy 356.1 dropped to more than two-year lows in October. This was caused by sharper price drop in finished product than scrap wheel prices driven by falling demand. The spread was 31.5¢/lb in October 2018. The spread between 356.1 alloy and 356 wheel scrap stood at 22.5¢/lb in the last week of October, up slightly from 19.5¢/lb in third week. The price of 356.1 alloy has been falling over last year by about 28¢/lb, while 356 wheel scrap, one of the key raw materials for the alloy, is down by only 19¢/lb. Hence, the margins for US secondary smelters that recycle 356 wheel scrap into ingots have come down significantly. Market participants have also reported slower flows of shreddable car scraps which bear...
According to a recent report, GFG Alliance’s £120 million alloy wheel plant, which was originally predicted to open early next year, creating 400 jobs, is moving a bit slow on development and planning. However, Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) interim chief executive Carroll Buxton said company managers assured about the commitments of the economic development quango to the project. As per the report, HIE’s board recently paid a visit to the smelter, which was saved from possible closure when GFG Alliance bought it for £330 million in 2016, for holding talks with senior management, including operations director Brian King. Ms Buxton said: “Their plans are moving a bit more slowly than maybe they would have hoped, but they are very committed to the area. She commented, “They have...
The US dollar climbed on Thursday on the back of expectations that the United States and China were inching closer to a trade deal. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies, ended up 0.2% on the day at 98.15. LME base metals and the SHFE complex mostly traded higher. LME aluminium gained 0.42% and SHFE aluminium rose 0.42%. Benchmark aluminium price on London Metal Exchange stayed flat and closed at US$1817.50 per tonne on Thursday, November 8. Three-month LME aluminium stayed above US$1,800 per tonne overnight with support from trade optimism. LME aluminium is likely to trade at US$1,700-1,810 per tonne today. As on November 7, Thursday, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stood at US$ 1817 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 1817.50...
SakunC Innovation Co, expertise in building boats and vehicles with lightweight aluminium, will reportedly deliver the first batch of 208 units of electric minibuses to local customers in the first quarter of 2020. Marketed by the SakunC brand, the vehicle is priced at 2.3 million a unit, said chief executive Weeraphon Techaphasuksanti. The assembling of the vehicle will take place at the company’s plant in Suphan Buri, which has the capacity to make 2,800 such units in a year. The plant required an investment of 1 billion Thailand Baht and received perks from the Board of Investment, according to the report. SakunC expects that by the end of this year, the revenue will reach 100 million Thai Baht, and by the year next to 800 million Thai Baht. Thanks to its wide range of products in the...
RUSAL, a leading global aluminium producer, announced its results for the third quarter and nine months ended 30 September 2019. The company reported revenue of USD7,222 million in the nine months ended 30 September of 2019, down 8.8% from USD7,915 million for the same period of 2018, which was partially offset by a 9.8% increase in primary aluminium sales volume. Revenue from sales of primary aluminium and alloys decreased by 7.6%, to USD5,946 million in the nine months, as compared to USD6,438 million last year. Revenue from alumina sales decreased by 30.2% year-on-year to USD502 million. This was due to a decrease in the sales volumes by 14.8% together with a decrease in the average sales price by 17.8%. Revenue from sales of foil and other aluminium products increased by 15.7% YoY to...
The A00 aluminium ingot price has recorded a significant rise today, on November 8, by RMB 120 per tonne to stand at RMB 14,230 per tonne, found Shanghai Metals Market. Compared with the price during the same period last month, the ingot price today is standing higher by RMB 180 per tonne, learned SMM. The average prices, as of today, are expected to range between RMB 14,210 per tonne and RMB 14,250 per tonne, with spot contract to be traded at a premium price of RMB 40 per tonne. Arrivals of limited stocks, resulting in incessant declines in social inventories of primary aluminium, could be attributed to the rise of A00 aluminium ingot price. In Foshan, the ingot price has increased by RMB 100 per tonne to RMB 14,120 per tonne, while that in Wuxi, Chongqing, Shenyang, Tianjin, and...
Liang Xuan, a senior aluminium analyst at Shanghai Metals Market, estimates China’s alumina market to turn into a “tangible surplus” in the fourth quarter of 2019, as the newly started refineries ramp up their domestic production and import arbitrage window opens. As per Liang’s estimation, alumina capacity in China will likely expand by 2.5 million tonnes on an annualised basis in 2019 and 6.2 million tonnes in 2020. China has a built-in alumina capacity of 83.6 million tonnes, with 70.94 million tonnes of metallurgical-grade capacity in operation. On Thursday, November 7, Liang pointed out at the 2019 South China Metals Summit that in September, metallurgical-grade alumina supply in China was in a moderate surplus of 2,000 tonnes as the recovery of idled capacity slowed than expected,...
Qatar Aluminium Manufacturing Company (QAMCO), a 50% shareholder in Qatar Aluminium Limited (Qatalum), a joint venture operating an aluminium smelter in Qatar, announced that it had appointed Khalid Mohammed Laram as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Qatalum with effect from November 5, 2019. Khalid Laram brings 33 years of experience to the job; his expertise covers the full spectrum from front-end engineering design to start-ups, including the operation of complex facilities. He started his career with Qatar Petroleum in May 1985. “QAMCO would like to thank Mr. Tom Petter Johansen, for serving Qatalum as its CEO from January 2019 till date. QAMCO would also like to take this opportunity to wish Mr. Khalid Laram, the best of success in his new position,” the company said. During his...
Aussie alumina startup FYI Resources has produced high purity alumina (HPA) during pilot testing at its Cadoux plant. Trial production at the company's kaolin prospect yielded a 99.99 per cent average purity grade. After the results, the company intends to transform the pilot production at the plant into full-scale production. The company considers the time for the pilot testing results as perfect, since Industry analysts have predicted a supply crunch for HPA with growing demands coming from the electric vehicle industry. “We are very pleased with the initial round of pilot plant results which demonstrated “four nines” purity in the material produced," said FYI managing director Roland Hill. Alumina is used as a separator in lithium-ion batteries, the demand for which has been flat over...
According to Shanghai Metals Market, inventories of aluminium billet in China, on November 7, declined for the fourth straight week, even after downstream consumption slowed down. SMM data showed the stocks of 6063 aluminium billet across five major consumption areas in China inched down 3,800 tonnes or 3.27 per cent from October 31 to come in at 112,400 tonnes. Last week, the stocks had declined by 1,900 tonnes to stand at 116,200 tonnes, meaning the decline increased this week. The chart below indicates the current status of aluminium billet inventories across China in more details: The billet inventories in Foshan, Guangdong dropped by 3,500 tonnes or 6.3 per cent to stand at 51,500 tonnes, while that in Changzhou, Jiangsu; and Huzhou, Zhejiang dwindled by 900 tonnes or 5.2 per cent...
