Macro perspective: Outside China, the US Fed raised interest rates by 25 basis points to 3.75per cent-4.00per cent as expected, the first hike since July 2023, with a unanimous FOMC vote. The dot plot showed one more possible rate hike in 2026, extending the period of high interest rates. As a result, US Treasuries saw heavy selling, the US dollar and real yields rose, directly weighing on the valuation of dollar-denominated nonferrous metals. Geopolitically, tensions in the Strait of Hormuz persisted, with Iran claiming the strait was under its "smart control," and a regional shipping security meeting originally scheduled in Oman was forced to be postponed, raising energy transport and risk premiums. Overall, macro sentiment was mixed. Fundamentals: Supply side, this week, China's weekly...
According to SMM statistics, as of September 17, aluminium billet inventory in major domestic consumption areas recorded 152,500 tonnes, down 500 tonnes from last Thursday (September 10) and down 5,000 tonnes from this Monday (September 14). The persistent upward trend in inventory since mid-August has shifted slightly, turning into a modest pullback from highs. On a Y-o-Y basis, inventory was approximately 17,500 tonnes higher than the same period in 2025, about 31,000 tonnes higher than 2024, and roughly 61,000 tonnes higher than 2023, with total inventory still at the highest level for the same period over the past four years. From the perspective of warehouse withdrawals, aluminium billet withdrawals during September 7–September 14 recorded 38,900 tonnes, up 2,800 tonnes W-o-W, ending...
Grow with
AL Circle
The latest shot fired in the ongoing US-China economic standoff could have far-reaching implications for the global aluminium industry. Speaking in no uncertain terms, Scott Bessent, an economic advisor to former President Donald Trump, stated that “all options are on the table,” including the delisting of Chinese companies from American stock exchanges. While the statement is loaded with geopolitical overtones, its economic reverberations are particularly significant for the global commodities market — aluminium being one of the most affected. Image for referential purposes only and does not depict original scenario (source: https://www.smallcase.com/) This development comes at a time when global markets are already battling fragile supply chains, and it could become a turning point for...
Futures: On Friday night, the most-traded SHFE aluminium 2506 contract opened at RMB 19,700 per tonne, with a high of RMB 19,720 per tonne and a low of RMB 19,615 per tonne, closing at RMB 19,690 per tonne, up RMB 50 per tonne or 0.25 per cent from the previous close. On Friday, LME aluminium opened at USD2,366 per tonne, with a high of USD 2,419 per tonne and a low of USD 2,355 per tonne, closing at USD 2,397 per tonne, up USD 28 per tonne or 1.18 per cent. Macro: (1) Teams from China and the EU have begun contact on EV negotiations, and the EU may cancel anti-subsidy duties on Chinese-made EVs. (Bullish★) (2) On April 11, the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council announced that from April 12, 2025, the tariff rate on imports from the US will increase from 84% to 125%. The US...
Baseus is excited to announce a range of new products to add to its thriving PicoGo Series – a unique collection of charging devices and accessories built to make your life easier with fast charging power and assured convenience. These ultra-thin newcomers promise to deliver compact power that redefine simplicity wherever life takes you. While the PicoGo Ultra-Slim Power Banks are similar in many ways, each device also promises to deliver unique charging capabilities that redefine simplicity wherever life takes you. Now, let's take a look at some of the main highlights of the latest additions to the Baseus PicoGo lineup. Baseus PicoGo Card-Sized Magnetic Power Bank Series: Main Shared Features Ultra-Slim and Portable : The PicoGo AM41 Ultra-Slim Power Bank (5000mAh) is just 0.3 inches...
Kia Corporation hosted an exclusive installation during Milan Design Week, reflecting the perspectives of designers involved in the development of the brand's revolutionary new Platform Beyond Vehicle (PBV) and electric vehicle (EV) models. Titled 'Transcend Journey', the installation explores the evolution of mobility, highlighting how Kia's innovative vehicles break the boundaries between urban and outdoor experiences. The theme reflects Kia designers' vision of a transformative journey, where Kia vehicles enable users to seamlessly navigate between diverse environments. What vehicles does Kia's Transcend Journey exhibition feature? Under the theme 'Transcend Journey,' the concept was illustrated with a twisting sculpture inspired by Kia's 'Opposites United' design philosophy and...
Aluminium is a magic metal. Every day, this recyclable and sustainable metal is uncovering a new dimension. This time researchers at NIST have discovered unique atomic structures known as quasicrystals in 3D-printed aluminium alloys. Found by materials research engineer Andrew Iams when he noticed something highly unusual while examining a sliver of a newly developed aluminium alloy under his electron microscope. At the atomic scale, the atoms appeared arranged in a remarkably unique pattern resembling quasicrystals. “That’s when I started to get excited,” said Iams, “because I thought I might be looking at a quasicrystal.” However, Andrew Iams intuition proved correct. Iams and his team at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) not only confirmed the presence of...
Nagpur just witnessed a tragedy that reads like a thriller gone wrong — except this was real, bloody, and brutally preventable. Five workers lost their lives in an explosion that ripped through an aluminium foil and powder manufacturing unit in the Umrer MIDC area (Nagpur, Maharashtra) on Friday afternoon. Image for representational purposes only and does not depict original incident Eyewitnesses say the ground literally shook. Windows shattered in nearby homes. Thick black smoke curled into the sky as if announcing the doom — and inside, chaos unfolded. The factory, which primarily churned out aluminium foil rolls for packaging industries, turned into a furnace within seconds. What should’ve been a regular workday ended with ambulances, sirens, and heartbroken families begging for...
Novelis, a leading American aluminium rolled products company and recycler, has extended its partnership for two more years to support carbon-neutral aluminium manufacturing at the Net Zero Lab Valais. The collaboration includes HES-SO Valais-Wallis, EPFL and OIKEN, showing Novelis’ ongoing commitment to sustainable aluminium production. Image source: Novelis What is Net Zero Lab Valais? With its inception on February 14, 2022, Net Zero Lab Valais is an R&D (research & development) facility established by Novelis with the focus of developing carbon-neutral solutions applicable to aluminium manufacturers. The main reason behind developing this facility is to reduce the company’s scope 1 and 2 emissions within the operations of their Sierre (Switzerland) plant. “Together Towards Carbon...
According to the SMM survey, the operating rate of the secondary aluminium industry in March 2025 rebounded significantly by 10.5 percentage points MoM to 43.9 per cent, but declined by 4.4 per cent Y-o-Y. With the fading of holiday factors, increased working days, and seasonal recovery in demand, orders for secondary aluminium plants generally rebounded in March, driving the operating rate to rise steadily. However, due to factors such as the front-loading of previous orders and end-use markets being busy digesting inventories, downstream orders declined significantly YoY, leading to a YoY decline in the operating level. Entering April, facing factors such as order shrinkage, losses on production, financial pressure, and sharp fluctuations in aluminium prices, some secondary aluminium...
National Aluminium Company (NALCO) has taken a serious beating on the bourses this week, tumbling to a fresh 52-week low of INR 142.05 (USD 1.70). That marks an overwhelming 22.71 per cent nosedive over the last nine straight sessions, with the stock opening Wednesday with a dramatic 9.92 per cent gap down. It’s not just NALCO feeling the heat, the entire aluminium and metals sector is under siege. NALCO has underperformed its peers by 1.77 per cent, and technical indicators paint a grim picture: the stock is trading below its 5-day, 20-day, 50-day, 100-day, and 200-day moving averages, to be noted as a classic bearish territory. Despite the market drama, NALCO isn’t all doom and gloom under the hood. The company boasts rock-solid fundamentals, from a low debt-to-equity ratio to a stellar...
While many countries are retaliating against the United States with counter-tariffs, Thailand is taking a different approach - considering reducing existing taxes on American goods. But why? The goal is to boost imports from the US and, in return, secure a favourable trade deal from the Trump administration. Image source: Trends Research & Advisory Thailand is among the countries hit with a steep tariff rate of 36 percent—significantly higher than expected. Despite this, Deputy Prime Minister Pichai Chunhavajira stated the Thai government was in no rush to initiate talks with the US. Rather, they chose to wait until their proposals were prepared. Mr Pichai will now take the proposals forward for negotiations. The Thai government aims to establish a balanced trade relation with the United...
The United States President, Donald J Trump, has announced a partial reprieve (a chunk of the additional ones, actually) from his reciprocal tariff imposition till July 9, 2025. India, which had been hit with a 26 per cent reciprocal tariff effective from April 9, has caught a temporary breather. But analysts warn — now is not the time for aluminium producers to let their guard down. The announcement to reprieve India and others from reciprocal tariff In a post on Truth Social, Trump declared, “Based on the fact that more than 75 countries have called representatives of the US to negotiate a solution and that these countries have not, at my strong suggestion, retaliated in any way, shape, or form against the United States, I have authorised a 90-day pause, and a substantially lowered...
Paschal, a Bahrain-based concrete formwork solution provider, has introduced its new range of powder-coated aluminium formwork panels. This is an extended version of the company’s NeoR range of lightweight formwork. Image source: Paschal The new NeoR range provides lightweight steel formwork panels and further lighter powder-coated aluminium panels. The latter weighs 23 kg and is 75cm x 150cm in size. The allowable pressure for fresh concrete is 50 kN/m², provided that the flatness tolerances specified in DIN 18202, Table 3, line 6, are maintained. NeoR strap 75 aids in connecting the steel panel powder-coated aluminium panels fast and firmly. This not only enhances durability but also the overall compatibility of the formwork panels. Similarly, the company's other product NeoR Multi...
ALRO has invested 8 million RON in a new aluminium plate cutting saw to improve processing capabilities and increase productivity to meet the rising demand. Image source: ALRO The latest equipment enhances ALRO’s ability to deliver customised aluminium plates with exact specifications. It also ensures greater precision and significantly reduces waste during production. By improving efficiency and output quality, the saw supports ALRO’s broader transition towards premium aluminium solutions. It contributes to sustainable practices and strengthens the company's long-term operational goals. This development comes after ALRO’s investment in the CUTSMART SYSTEMS facility, worth RON 13.7 million. The facility marks a shift towards providing finished aluminium components that require no further...
Mineradora Santo Expedito LTDA. has earned ASI Performance Standard V3 (2022) Certification for the planning, mining, transport and dry processing of bauxite at its Mineradora Santo Expedito (MSE) mining site in Barro Alto, Goiás, Brazil. Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) today announced that MSE has been certified against the ASI Performance Standard V3 (2022). The mining site specialises in the extraction and dry processing of bauxite, with an annual production over 650,000 tonnes, serving metallurgical and industrial markets. The site features crushers, vibrating screens, ore classifiers, and multiple storage yards. Other infrastructure includes maintenance workshops, laboratories, warehouses, and a nursery for native seedlings, as well as mining and processing machinery and...
Futures: Last night, the SHFE aluminium 2505 contract opened at RMB 19,780 per tonne, with a high of RMB 19,810 per tonne and a low of RMB 19,670 per tonne, closing at RMB 19,725 per tonne, up RMB 110 per tonne, a 0.56 per cent increase. Last night, LME aluminium opened at USD 2,366 per tonne, with a high of USD 2,376 per tonne and a low of USD 2,366 per tonne, closing at USD 2,373 per tonne, up USD 3 per tonne, a 0.15 per cent increase. Macro: (1) Trump: The first agreement on tariffs is very close to being reached. Tariffs may bring "transitional issues," but the US is in a very good state. White House trade advisor Navarro said the market decline on the 10th was no big deal. (Bullish★) (2) The US March unadjusted CPI YoY was 2.4 per cent, hitting a six-month low, below the market...
March has ushered in a striking divergence in the global bauxite landscape — North America and Asia are grappling with bloated inventories and cooling offtake. Au contraire, Europe, led by Germany, is scrambling to source feedstock amid a sudden uptick in industrial appetite. ChemAnalyst’s latest analysis flags this three-way split as ’a phase of divergence’ for bauxite prices and availability. The US: Surplus meets scepticism On this side of the Atlantic, producers and traders are wrestling with rising stockpiles and diminishing downstream demand. American bauxite prices have slipped as domestic mills and importers bulk up on material even as aluminium smelters pause expansion plans. There have been expansions in production houses, such as Bengang Plates Co.’s joint venture with Ansteel...
Capral Aluminium, an Australia-based national supplier and distributor of aluminium products, is now coming together with the Australian Made Campaign to promote locally manufactured aluminium extrusions to protect them from threats and uncertainties posed by global trade policies and tariff measures. Image source: Capral Impact of Recent Tariff on Australia Currently, the Australian aluminium industry is under significant pressure due to Trump’s recently imposed tariff making it difficult for the country to export to the United States. As a result, this is also creating mounting anxiety within the country concerning the rising trade disruption as well as the increased threat of dumped aluminium entering the threshold. Amidst this wake, it has become highly crucial to promote...
Alpro Extrusion Pvt. Ltd., a Kolkata-based aluminium extrusion company, has become an approved vendor of Indian railways. The announcement was made via their official LinkedIn post on 8 April 2025. This step strengthens Alpro’s support of India’s infrastructure and mobility growth. Image source: Company website Aluminium is central to Alpro’s operations, providing lightweight, durable and corrosion-resistant solutions for diverse industrial applications. The company delivers precision-engineered aluminium profiles that meet rigorous national standards. Alpro Extrusion currently has automatic hydraulic presses with a production capacity of 3,000 tonnes per annum. The company's net sales revenue is 0.33 per cent and EBITDA is -2.1 per cent. As an approved vendor, Alpro gains access to one...
