Hindalco Industries has terminated its proposed USD 125 million acquisition of US-based speciality alumina producer AluChem Companies after extended delays in closing the transaction. The decision ends a deal announced in June 2025, although Hindalco says its speciality alumina expansion strategy remains firmly in place. Hindalco Industries has called off its proposed acquisition of AluChem Companies Inc., bringing an end to its planned USD 125 million entry into the US-based speciality alumina producer. The Aditya Birla Group's metals flagship and AluChem have jointly decided to terminate the Equity Purchase Agreement (EPA) following prolonged delays in completing the transaction. According to Hindalco's regulatory filing, the delays were beyond the control of either party. "The proposed...
The US September consumer confidence index plunged 6.7 points to 81.9, the lowest since 2014 and deteriorating across the board. The University of Michigan survey showed consumers' assessments of their current financial situation and that one year ahead both fell about 10 per cent, with high-price concerns continuing to brew. Inflation pressure showed no signs of easing. US Fed Governor Cook said AI demand growth, rising oil prices, and supply chain disruptions from Middle East conflicts would keep inflation under pressure, but gave no clear guidance on rate hikes. CME data showed the market-implied probability of a 25 bp rate hike in October had risen to 70.9 per cent, and the probability of a cumulative 50 bp hike by December reached 58.7 per cent. Tightening expectations strengthened...
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According to the Shanghai Metals Market, social inventories of primary aluminium totalled 1.269 million tonnes across eight major consumption areas in China, including SHFE warrants, as of Thursday, March 2, 2023. Compared to a week ago, February 23, the inventories have accumulated 21,000 tonnes this week but stand almost muted as against 1.268 million tonnes on Monday, February 27. The chart below indicates the current status of primary aluminium inventories across China in more details: In Gongyi, primary aluminium inventories gained the highest this week, with the end of the inflow controls. SMM survey showed inventories in Gongyi increased by 10,000 tonnes to stand at 258,000 tonnes on March 2. In Wuxi, primary aluminium inventories climbed 8,000 tonnes over a week to rest at 447,000...
The Slovenian aluminium company Talum will shut down its remaining aluminium electrolytic furnaces in April. Talum plans to shut down its remaining aluminium electrolytic furnaces in April after nearly 60 years of producing primary aluminium. The Kidričevo-based company has recently switched to aluminium processing and other more lucrative activities. The rapid rise of energy prices forced the Slovenian producer Talum to cut its primary aluminium production to around 20 per cent of its capacity in 2022. Electricity prices in Europe have increased tenfold since the beginning of 2021. Primary aluminium production is highly energy intensive, making production at some sites unviable. The Slovenian aluminium producer ranked among the top 10 exporters in the nation and has been producing 50,000...
On March 2nd, 2023, the former President of En+ Group and the founder of the Russian aluminium giant, Oleg Deripaska, urged the Russian government to prevent it from interfering in business and rather develop a formulaic environment established on the rule of law to allure foreign investors back to Russia's sanctions-hit economy. At an economic forum in Krasnoyarsk, the former aluminium tycoon stated that he doesn't expect a "de-escalation" of the conflict with Ukraine before mid-2025. At the same time, Western investors may not return for another decade. Deripaska said he was scathing about the business climate in an economy where the Kremlin is increasingly focused on the war effort. Still, he hoped Russia could attract investors from friendly countries that have not joined the Western...
The aluminium billet inventory decreased for four weeks in a row due to downstream processing companies receiving more orders during the customary peak season and operating at a higher capacity. As per the data, on Thursday, March 2, the inventories in China recorded a W-o-W plunge of 156,200 tonnes to stand at 24,700 tonnes, from 181,000 tonnes recorded a week ago. The figure below provides further information on the current state of aluminium billet inventories in China: The inventory in Foshan slumped by 13,000 tonnes to score at 80,100 tonnes from 93,100 tonnes recorded a week ago. As per the data, the inventory in Wuxi had fallen by 7,800 tonnes from 39,400 tonnes recorded last week to close at 31,600 tonnes on February 2. On the same day in Huzhou, the inventory had dropped by 4,000...
Glencore, one of the world's largest globally diversified natural resource companies, has reportedly entered into a partnership with scrap brokerage Zeb Metals to advance its aluminium scrap and dross recycling operation at a new plant in South Carolina, USA. The plant is scheduled to commence production by the end of 2023, with two rotary furnaces to recycle aluminium dross and industrial scrap for regional consumption. Glencore has a long experience in copper scrap and precious metal scrap recycling at facilities in the United States, Canada, Italy and Chile. Now it will debut in aluminium scrap recycling when the industry is seeing the highest investments in decades. "Recent government policies, such as the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the EU's proposed Green Deal Industrial...
Canifesto, a new campaign to promote the use of aluminium beverage cans, has been started by five ready-to-drink (RTD) brands to disprove the notion that customers don't prefer drinking from cans by highlighting their environmental friendliness. The Canifesto, an open letter highlighting the benefits of aluminium cans like minimization of waste, lower expenses, and free up time for the hospitality stage, has been launched by The Uncommon, Jukes, MOTH Beverages, Longbottom, and TRIP. The open letter uses market data supporting sustainability to persuade hospitality leaders of the benefits of the can. "Cans help us significantly reduce road miles and carbon emissions. For our customers, serving from an RTD (ready-to-drink) can support speed of service, where access to quality drinks like...
Vedanta Limited elevated its aluminium products prices by INR 4,500 per tonne on Thursday, March 2, after the last revision about a week ago on February 25. The latest hike has brought the company’s aluminium wire rod price to INR 233,000-240,500 per tonne versus INR 228,500-236,000 per tonne on February 25. Vedanta’s aluminium billet price stands at INR 234,500 per tonne, with effect from Thursday, March 2, compared to INR 230,000 per tonne on February 25. The company’s aluminium ingot price experienced no exception but saw an increase of INR 4,500 per tonne from INR 221,000-251,500 per tonne on February 25 to INR 225,500-256000 per tonne on March 2. Vedanta links its aluminium ingot and aluminium products prices to the three-month futures of aluminium on the Londom Metal Exchange, which...
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the world's largest derivatives marketplace, reported that participation in aluminium futures is likely to have a strong start in 2023. As per the reports, the average daily volumes (ADV) for aluminium futures in February recorded a four-fold Y-o-Y surge of 300 per cent to 3,161 contracts. The average daily open interest of the 2,549 contracts hiked by 711 per cent Y-o-Y and is expected to last through 2024. According to the computation, about 79,025 tonnes of aluminium were traded on the CME's futures market in February. Each physically deliverable CME contract equals 25 metric tonnes. "We are pleased to see that strong momentum in our Aluminum markets has continued into 2023, and we look forward to helping more participants across the base metals...
To commemorate National Science Day, India's largest aluminium producer Vedanta Aluminium organised a visit for Women's Degree College students to their mega aluminium smelter at Jharsuguda to learn and experience the 'Science of Aluminium' as part of the Campus Connect Programme. The aim was to inspire students to pursue higher education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and opt for careers in the manufacturing industry. Vedanta's Science of Aluminium is a unique initiative to enable students to witness the concepts live that they may have learnt theoretically. Employee volunteers demonstrated scientific concepts behind aluminium production, such as Bayer's, Hall-Héroult, power generation, and casting processes. Vedanta also wants to encourage female students,...
The German aluminium tube manufacturer with more than 70 years of presence, Tubex has managed to be among the first 50 packaging companies worldwide to have their GHG emission reduction targets approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). The approval of the short-term emissions reduction goals by SBTi is a significant milestone for the company's sustainability roadmap. SBTi has evaluated and certified Tubex Aluminium Tubes' group-wide near-term reduction objectives for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The company's scope 1 and 2 objective ambition has been categorised by the SBTi, which has decided that it is consistent with a 1.5°C trajectory. These include emissions from the operations of Tubex Aluminium Tubes and those in the supplier chain (scope 1, 2 and 3). "Our...
On Friday, March 3, A00 aluminium ingot price in China has moved up by RMB 20 per tonne to stand at RMB 18,550 per tonne. The average prices for the same are likely to range between RMB 18,530 per tonne and RMB 18,570 per tonne, with the spot contract price to be traded at a discount price of RMB 100 to RMB 60 per tonne. On a W-o-W calculation , the price has fallen by RMB 70 per tonne from RMB 18,480 per tonne recorded on Friday, February 24. As per the SMM data, the prices in Linyi and Shenyang have increased by RMB 50 per tonne and RMB 40 per tonne to close at RMB 18,600 per tonne and RMB 18,550 per tonne. In Wuxi and Hangzhou, the prices have grown by RMB 35 per tonne, scoring at RMB 18,550 per tonne. On the same day, in Gongyi and Chongqing, the prices have moved up by RMB 30 per...
The Joko Widodo lead Indonesian government affirms that bauxite export would be prohibited from June this year. It is prepared to cope with the repercussions, including handling World Trade Organization (WTO) concerns from other nations. Bara Krishna Hasibuan, the Indonesian Trade Ministry's special staff for international trade agreements, said, "The government would not back down on the ban plan . As is known, China is Indonesia's largest export market for bauxite ore, meaning that both countries will likely go head-to-head in a WTO dispute settlement." He added, "President Jokowi said he was ready for the consequences. The Trade Ministry is also prepared to deal with any WTO dispute." However, prohibiting bauxite exports will significantly impact China, as bauxite ore exports to China...
Three-month LME aluminium opened at US$2,441.50 per tonne on Thursday, March 2, and closed at US$2,395.50 per tonne, down US$48.50 per tonne or 1.98 per cent. LME aluminium cash bid price and LME aluminium official settlement price continued to grow but at a much lower rate. The former grew by only US$3.50 per tonne to stand at US$2,365.50 per tonne as of March 2 and the latter inched up by US$2.50 per tonne to close at US$2,366.50 per tonne. Both 3-month bid price and 3-month offer price increased by US$4.5 per tonne to rest at US$2,410 per tonne and US$2,411 per tonne, respectively. December 24 bid price and December 24 offer price climbed US$12 per tonne to peg at US$2,605 per tonne and US$2,610 per tonne. LME aluminium opening stock totalled 546825 tonnes, losing 3,275 tonnes from the...
The London Metal Exchange (LME) has announced that it will suspend the issuance of warrants for aluminium metal of Russian origin from the exchange's warehouses in the United States immediately. The United States announced new tariffs on Russian aluminium on February 24 as the impetus for this action. A 200% duty was imposed on Russian-origin aluminium as well as aluminium products manufactured in third countries from metal melted in Russia. Furthermore, beginning April 1, a 70% import duty will be imposed on Russian-origin copper, nickel, lead, and aluminium alloys. LME reports that US warehouses have no Russian primary aluminium, copper, nickel, or lead. Only NASAAC (400 tonnes) exists, for which no delivery obligations exist. The exchange is suspending the use of warrants for this...
Aluminium without CO2 emission can be touted as one of the most crucial aspects of climate goals. Developing zero-emission technology for aluminium production can be called the need of the hour in which Hydro has developed a groundbreaking technology called HalZero, which can help produce primary aluminium without greenhouse gas emissions. As per the reports, Hydro's HalZero manufacturing technology will invest in a new testing facility, supported by the government of Norway. With this move, Hydro is on schedule to provide zero-carbon primary aluminium pilot production by 2030. "We know that demand for aluminium will increase, and aluminium without CO2 emissions will mean a lot for the climate goals. Today, the aluminium industry accounts for 2 percent of the world's CO2 emissions. We are...
Yamaha Motor Company, a Japanese multinational manufacturer of motorcycles, has started using green aluminium for manufacturing vehicle parts, with effect from February 2023. Yamaha is the first Japanese motorcycle company using aluminium. It has reportedly entered into a new agreement with an aluminium ingot supplier to source the metal. Green aluminium is aluminium produced using renewable energy to reduce carbon emissions in its manufacture. Aluminium parts account for 12 to 31 per cent of the total weight of a motorcycle. So, using green aluminium for motorcycle parts is an effective way to curb CO2 emissions from the vehicle. Yamaha has said it is actively using recycled aluminium for its vehicle parts leveraging advanced technologies and expertise. So, now the use of recycled...
The Players Championship, or the annual golf tournament organized by the PGA tour, has been an ardent supporter of sustainability and recyclability. As per the reports, this year, they will introduce aluminium Sawgrass Splash Cup, which can be taken home by the fans as souvenirs or given up in recycling. Students from Flagler College and the University of North Florida will be coming forward for the recycling endeavour. According to a PGA Tour spokeswoman, the students are voluntarily joining the competition's Green Team. They will improve the tour's sustainability initiatives by assisting spectators with correctly disposing of food and beverage containers, pairing papers, and other items. Brazos Barber, the senior manager at PGA Tours, stated the inclusion of the recyclable 16 oz....
According to the US Geological Survey, India imported 102,900 tonnes of aluminium scrap from the United States during the fourth quarter of 2022, which reflected a sequential downfall of 20.11 per cent from 128,800 million tonnes in Q3 2022. In total, India imported 231,700 million tonnes of aluminium scrap from the US during the second half of 2022, up by 2.07 per cent from 227,000 million tonnes in H1 2022. In December 2022, India sourced 33,300 tonnes of aluminium scrap from the United States, compared to 28,800 tonnes in November. That represented a month-on-month growth of 15.63 per cent, found USGS. But on a year-on-year calculation, the import volume stood 21.28 per cent less than 42,300 tonnes. In the full-year 2022, India’s aluminium scrap imports from the US totalled 459,000...
