AlCircle News Edited By "Debanjali Sengupta"
Debanjali Sengupta is a passionate content writer with 10 years of experience in Business writing, Web Content writing, Blogging, Editing and Research. She is responsible for generating and editing content for AlCircle Newsletter and other online and offline content for enhancing the brand value and its visibility among global users.
Alumina spot price declines by RMB9/t, but A00 aluminium ingot price grows by RMB50/t
After starting the week with restraint at RMB 2,467 per tonne, the average alumina spot price today, on December 10, has recorded a plunge of RMB 9 per tonne to RMB 2,458 per tonne, found Shanghai Metals Market. So far this month, the average alumina spot price has shown a bearish trend like the month before, although within a limited range. In last just more than a week, the price has slipped by RMB 25 per tonne ranging between RMB 2,483 per tonne and RMB 2,458 per tonne. In the east, the average spot price of alumina has declined by RMB 20 per tonne to RMB 2,460 per tonne, while that in the central and north by RMB 10 per tonne to RMB 2,480 per tonne and RMB 2,460 per tonne. In the south, the price has shown no change today. Also, the imported alumina price and the Australian alumina...
China’s unwrought aluminium and aluminium products exports rose in November by 4.9% MoM
According to the General Administration of Customs data, China’s unwrought aluminium (including primary metal and alloy) and aluminium products exports in November came in at 452,000 tonnes after recording an increase of 4.9 per cent month-on-month. In October, however, China’s unwrought aluminium and aluminium products exports were down by 1.18 per cent from the previous month to 429,852 tonnes. In September also, the exports were lower by 6.6 per cent from 466,000 tonnes in August to 435,000 tonnes. In the first eleven months of the year, China’s total volume of unwrought aluminium (including primary metal and alloy) and aluminium products exports amounted to 5.25 million tonnes, down 0.3 per cent from the corresponding period last year. China’s production of primary aluminium also fell...
Mexico’s aluminium scrap exports to US continued to decline by 19% M-o-M
Aluminium scrap exports from Mexico to the United States continued to fall month-on-month in August by about 19 per cent, found the United States Geological Survey. From 12,800 tonnes in July, Mexico’s exports to the US declined to 10,400 tonnes in August. In May and June, on the other hand, the country's exports were 15,100 tonnes and 14,500 tonnes, respectively, representing the fact that Mexico’s aluminium scrap exports to the US had been decreasing since May. While in June the amount decreased by 4 per cent, in July it dropped by 12 per cent month-on-month, which indicates another fact that the declining rate in exports has been increasing over the months. Mexico’s total aluminium scrap exports to the US during May-August came in at 52,800 tonnes and since January 105,000 tonnes. This...
Mexico’s foreign minister rejects US new trade deal proposals on aluminium and steel production
On Sunday, December 8, Mexico’s foreign minister rejected the United States proposal for aluminium and steel production under the new trade deal, citing that it would leave Mexico at a disadvantage. During a meeting with senators over details of negotiations for the United States-Mexico-Canada treaty (USMCA), Mexico’s Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said the US proposed 70 per cent of steel for automobile production from the North American region. This, according to him, will put Mexico at a great disadvantage as cars produced in Mexico also use components imported from Brazil, Japan, and Germany. Ebrard also said that Mexico would not accept any term for aluminium provisions either, as the United States has no resources to produce aluminium. He rather pointed out that Mexico is one of...
Metro Mining to beat 2019 guidance; It produces 452,000 WMT bauxite and ships 463,000 WMT in November
The Australian exploration and mining company Metro Mining Limited announced another strong monthly performance for November, and with that a step closer to the production guidance of 2019. According to the performance report, the company produced 452,000 wet metric tonnes (WMT) of bauxite in November and shipped 463,000 wet metric tonnes (WMT). Metro Mining Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Simon Finnis, said: “This is another very pleasing result for the team, both on and off-site. We are on target to meet the upper end of guidance. “It has been a very successful operational year and I am extremely proud of the effort and performance of the Metro team and our contracting partners.” Up until November 30, Metro Mining’s total amount of bauxite production and shipment came in...
FYI Resources secures a site in Kwinana industrial area for high purity alumina refining facility
The Australian listed resources company FYI Resources has reportedly received an industrial site in the Kwinana industrial area for its high purity alumina refining facility. The facility, as per the report, will refine kaolin feedstock arrived from FYI’s Cadoux Project. The company’s managing director Roland Hill said on Wednesday, December 4, that the Kwinana industrial area was a world-class industrial hub, adding that FYI Resources was delighted to be selected as a proponent within the zone and a participant in the Battery Valley. “Having our HPA refinery located in this zone is a real asset to the company and is integral to our fully integrated production strategy. The benefit of being located in the Kwinana industrial area brings many tangible and intangible benefits to our business...
Sigma to build a 200,000 tonnes per annum liquid aluminium factory by June 2020
China’s largest secondary aluminium producer Sigma Group will reportedly build a liquid aluminium factory in Gongxi, Henan, with an annual capacity of 200,000 tonnes. According to Shanghai Metals Market report, this liquid aluminium will be supplied to the processing plant of Zhongfu Industry, as Sigma and Zhongfu signed a supply agreement on Tuesday, December 3. The factory will be located in Yulian Industrial Park and is expected to be operational in June 2020. Zhongfu’s costs for aluminium deep and precision process are expected to come down by RMB 800 per tonne to RMB 1,000 per tonne once this plant becomes operational next year. According to SMM research, there are 3 million tonnes of aluminium processing capacities in Gongyi, but less than 10 per cent of it uses secondary aluminium....
Union Petroleum Minister requests Centre to restart infrastructure upgrade at Angul Aluminium Park
According to a recent report, Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has urged the Centre to resume the project for upgradation of infrastructure at Angul Aluminium Park in Odisha. He wrote to Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal seeking his personal intervention to direct the concerned officials to undertake the review of the work done so far. In the letter, he has also requested the Centre to restart the upgradation work with a renewed focus on ironing out bottlenecks for expeditious completion of the project. The letter states: "I also request to restore central assistance to Odisha aluminium cluster at Angul under MIIUS with the objective of enhancing of industrial competitiveness of the aluminium industry by providing quality infrastructure in the cluster which has...
Nalco appeals SC again over Odisha HC’s order allowing Vedanta to participate in alumina sale tender
National Aluminium Company (Nalco), on Tuesday, December 3, once again appealed the Supreme Court to challenge the Odisha High Court’s March order that allowed Vedanta’s Jharsugda unit to participate in the tender for the sale of surplus 30,000 tonnes of metallurgical grade calcined alumina. In April this year, Nalco had first approached the Supreme Court over this issue, citing that the tender for alumina exports was issued only to overseas customers and, therefore, Vedanta’s Jharsugda unit was not entitled to participate in the tender. Later on, the state-owned Navratna company clarified that Vedanta could participate in the tender through its sister concern based in London. Nalco also exports its surplus alumina of over 1.2 million tonnes after meeting its in-house need at Angul...
Chinese alumina spot price extends its marginal decline by RMB2/t; A00 aluminium ingot price continues to grow
According to Shanghai Metals Market, the average spot price of alumina continues to decline marginally by RMB 2 per tonne to RMB 2,478 per tonne, as of December 4. In the north of China, the price has dropped too by RMB 5 per tonne to RMB 2,480 per tonne for a week at RMB 2,485 per tonne since dropped from RMB 2,490 per tonne on November 25. The average prices in the north are expected to range between RMB 2,470 per tonne and RMB 2,490 per tonne. In the east, central, and south, however, the alumina price has shown no sign of change from RMB 2,490 per tonne, RMB 2,495 per tonne and RMB 2,520 per tonne, respectively. The imported price of alumina as well as the Australian alumina FOB price, have neither recorded any change today from RMB 2,540 per tonne and US$273 per tonne, respectively....
France and EU ready to retaliate US penalty threat on $2.4 billion French goods
On Tuesday, December 3, the French government announced that the European Union and France are ready to retaliate if the United States proposed tariffs of up to 100 per cent on $2.4 billion worth French goods come into effect. The Trump administration on Monday, December 2, announced to impose harsh penalties on France as its new digital services tax has taken a toll on the United States technology companies. Donald Trump said he would not allow France to take advantage of American companies and that the European Union treats the US very unfairly on trade. Trump also said that he would impose aluminium and steel tariffs on imports from Brazil and Argentina, with an immediate effect. However, French Minister Bruno Le Maire refused to accept the US charges and said the French tax did not...
Japan’s aluminium plates, sheets and bars exports to US declined 5.41% in August
According to the United States Geological Survey, Japan’s aluminium plates, sheets and bars exports to the US recorded a decline in August by about 5.41 per cent to 4,890 tonnes, followed after three consecutive months of growth. In July, Japan’s export volume of aluminium plates, sheets and bars to the US had increased 30 per cent month-on-month to come in at 5,170 tonnes, while that in June grew by 3 per cent from 3,890 tonnes in May to 3,990 tonnes. Thus, Japan’s aluminium plates, sheets and bars exports to the US from May to August totalled at 17,940 tonnes. From January to August, the total export volume was 32,900 tonnes, which represents the fact that Japan’s exports in the first four months of the year were lesser by 17 per cent than the next four months. After Japan, India was...
BMW invests 400 million euros in Dingolfing plant for highly automated electric vehicles production
According to a recent report, the BMW group is investing 400 million euros in restructuring its Dingolfing vehicle plant for the production of electric vehicles, including the highly automated BMW iNEXT. The update of the plant should be done by 2021 and the BMW iNEXT will be the first pure electric vehicle produced in Dingolfing. According to BMW, the Dingolfing plant after the revamp will be capable of producing the right mix of fully-electric vehicles, plug-in hydbrids and models with combustion engines to suit demand on a single assembly line. So, this investment is not only for the transmission to e-mobility but also for standard production of highly-automated vehicles. Milan Nedeljkovic, member of the board of management, BMW said: “Thanks to our flexible production structures, our...
Trump administration to restore aluminium and steel tariffs on Brazil and Argentina
On Monday, December 2, the US President Donald Trump announced to immediately restore aluminium and steel import tariffs on Brazil and Argentina and even harsher penalties of up to 100 per cent against $2.4 billion of French imports, as a retaliatory move against France’s new digital-services tax that has hit the US technology company. The reason cited for the aluminium and steel import tariffs on Brazil and Argentina was the unfair act by the US trading partners to disadvantage the country’s traditional economic pillars as well as its best hopes for future prosperity. Donald Trump tweeted, “Brazil and Argentina have been presiding over a massive devaluation of their currencies, which is not good for our farmers.” He also said the Federal Reserve body should take correct measures to...
Norsk Hydro to cut primary aluminium production at its Slovalco plant
A fully integrated Norwegian aluminium company Norsk Hydro announced on Monday, December 2, that it plans to cut 20 per cent production at its majority-owned Slovalco primary aluminium plant in Slovakia. Weak market is one of the reasons for the production cut, said the company. Located at the center of the actively growing aluminium market in Central Europe, Slovalco’s 55.3 per cent of the share is owned by Hydro Aluminium AS, while the rest (44.7 per cent) owned by Penta Investments. In 2018, Hydro had decided to expand remelt operations at its Slovalco plant in collaboration with joint-venture partner PENTA, aiming at producing and supplying the “greenest” aluminium metal in the industry. The expansion was for facilitating production of primary aluminium as well as for serving as a...
Nespresso and JDE form alliance for aluminium coffee capsules recycle in France
Followed by the invitation issued by Nespresso in late March 2019 to join its recycling programme, Dutch beverage brand Jacobs Douwe Egberts (JDE) has recently stepped forward and formed an alliance with Nespresso for recycling aluminium coffee capsules in France. The news came as Arnaud Deschamps, Managing Director of Nespresso in France, said: “It is our aim to ensure that all aluminium capsules in France are recycled. Given that aluminium is 100 per cent recyclable, it is our responsibility as a company to establish a system to ensure it is recycled effectively.” Nespresso had issued an invitation urging portioned coffee manufacturers to join its recycling programme aimed at improving the accessibility and convenience of aluminium capsule recycling. Nespresso and JDE are now reportedly...
Primary aluminium inventories again decline by 35,000 tonnes on weekend and 61,000 tonnes over the week
Shanghai Metals Market found the social inventories of primary aluminium across eight major consumption areas in China, including SHFE warrants, have extended decline over the weekend by 35,000 tonnes and over the week by 61,000 tonnes to stand at 720,000 tonnes, as of Monday, December 2. This further decline in inventories could be attributed to the fair consumption of primary aluminium against slower arrivals of stocks during the winter heating season. On last Thursday, November 28 , the inventories were at 755,000 tonnes after declining by 26,000 tonnes from 781,000 tonnes on Monday, November 25 . This represents the fact that the decline in primary aluminium inventories rose on Monday, December 2, from the previous week. The chart below shows the current status of primary aluminium...
Prebaked anode price declines by RMB130/t after a month-long restraint; A00 aluminium ingot price grows
According to Shanghai Metals Market, the prebaked anode price in the east has recorded a decline of RMB 130 per tonne to RMB 2,850 per tonne on December 2, followed by a month-long restraint at RMB 2,980 per tonne. Even throughout October, the price remained unchanged at RMB 3,030 per tonne until registered a drop on November 1 to RMB 2,980 per tonne. The markets in the central and southwest China have also witnessed a decrease of RMB 130 per tonne and RMB 90 per tonne in the prebaked anode price to RMB 2,910 per tonne and RMB 3,330 per tonne. In the northwest, however, the price has shown no sign of change from its month-long price of RMB 3,550 per tonne. The A00 aluminium ingot price, on the other hand, has extended its growth by RMB 60 per tonne to RMB 14,050 per tonne, primarily...
