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.
Future aluminium price hike in China results in weak spot transactions
Shanghai Metals Market found a sharp plunge in purchasing enthusiasm of spot aluminium among downstream consumers in China as on Monday, November 19. As per the SMM analysis, it could be because of the rise in primary aluminium future prices and the support that downstream production got from the existing primary aluminium stocks at the beginning of the week. The SHFE 1812 contract climbed in morning trades. In Shanghai, most spot transactions were seen at RMB 13,750 per tonne to RMB 13,760 per tonne, with discounts of RMB 30 per tonne to RMB 20 per tonne against the December contract. Transactions in Wuxi were also found the same as that in Shanghai, but Hangzhou recorded a transaction at RMB 13,750 per tonne to RMB 13,770 per tonne. The primary aluminium price gains, however,...
Deco introduces a new range of colours to its powder-coated aluminium finish DecoWood
Deco, the producer of decorative powder-coated aluminium finish DecoWood, has reportedly unveiled six woodgrain colours for its timber-finish colour range. This brings the DecoWood colour series to a total of 30 different woodgrains, replicating natural timber species from Australia and across the world. These woodgrains can be used across a variety of aluminium building products and profiles. Ranging from light to dark, the finishes of the newly-introduced woodgrain colours are developed in such a manner that they can cater the need of both the architects, specifiers, as well as design professionals, amidst an increasing inspiration and choice in the ever-changing design landscape. Two colours – Maple and African Blackwood have been added to the Exotic Timber Species collection. Maple,...
Chinese A00 aluminium ingot price records a hike on lowered inventories: SMM
Shanghai Metal Market research found a further drop in social inventories of primary aluminium across eight major consumption areas in China. The stock, including SHFE warrants, came in at 1.438 million tonnes over the weekend ended on Monday, November 19, down some 15,000 tonnes from last Thursday, November 15. The reason for this incessant week-on-week fall in primary aluminium inventories could be the production cuts across smelters due to increased losses. Compared to last Thursday, inventories in Wuxi and Jiangsu plunged by some 15,000 tonnes to stand at 613,000 tonnes while that in Nanhai and Guangdong, and Gongyi and Henan dropped by some 2,000 tonnes and 1,000 tonnes to clock at 207,000 tonnes and 75,000 tonnes, respectively. On the other hand, inventories in Shanghai and...
Nalco to bid for bauxite blocks and start merchant mining of the raw material
The state-run National Aluminium Company Limited has reportedly decided to bid at the auctions of 21 bauxite blocks to be put up for allocation by the governments of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh. According to the report, Nalco will put in bids for captive consumption and start merchant mining of the raw material. Per the Nalco’s statement, the company eyes to step into commercial merchant mining as part of its diversification plans and thus, wish to leverage its expertise in the captive mining of bauxite in eastern state of Odisha. Company officials said: “Some of the prime bauxite reserves would be developed for its own consumption, while production from other blocks would be up for free sale for other aluminium refiners in the country.” The foray into domestic merchant...
Spanish workers stage protest against Alcoa’s decision to close down two of its smelters
On November 8, around 10,000 Spanish workers reportedly marched in Aviles, Spain, protesting the US-based aluminium giant Alcoa’s proposal to close down two of its smelters. They even sought for the intervention of the government regarding the said matter but received a hostile response. According to the report, the shutdown of Alcoa’s two smelters could threaten up to 700 jobs. Rejecting the demand from the workers, Magdalena Valerio, minister of labour, migration and social security, categorically stated on November 11, “We are not in a state-run economy, how [do we] intervene in the company. We are not in a communist regime.” It was on October 17 when Alcoa announced its decision to close two of its smelters in Aviles and La Coruna. The two smelters together have the potential to...
State-owned Nalco announces share buyback worth INR 505 crore
On Wednesday, November 14, the state-owned National Aluminium Company Limited (Nalco) announced share buyback offer worth INR 505 crore. “The date of opening of the buyback is Tuesday, 13 November, and the date of closing of the buyback offer is Wednesday, 28 November,” National Aluminium Company (Nalco) said in a filing to BSE. The company added about its extensive plans for brown field and green field expansion that also include the ongoing fifth stream refinery of 1 million tonne per annum capacity in its existing alumina refinery at Damanjodi, and 60,000 million tonne per annum capacity of aluminium alloy wire rod plant at existing smelter and development of Pottangi bauxite mines. Last month, the company said that its board approved a proposal to buy back shares worth INR 504.8...
Poland aluminium scrap import to rise in 2018: Germany to be the primary supplier
Poland imported US$230.5 billion worth of goods from all over the world in 2017, out which aluminium accounted for 5.7 per cent of the total imports of the country. However, aluminium scrap imports by Poland in terms of volume decreased year-on-year in 2017, although the cost stood higher. Nevertheless, in 2018, Poland’s aluminium scrap import is estimated to increase from the two former years and stand at 257,202 tonnes. In 2017, the import volume was at 233,258 tonnes, in contrast, while in 2016, it was at 246,862 tonnes. Hence, this shows that the import volume of the country is likely to grow 4.18 per cent from 2016 and 10.26 per cent from 2017. Consequently, import cost is estimated to rise as well from US$ 250 million in 2017 to US$ 272 million in 2018, up 9 per cent. The cost is...
Canyon Resources spots high-grade bauxite trend at Minim Martap Project
Canyon Resources Ltd. discovered a cluster of high-grade, low-containment bauxite trend within its existing resource at Minim Martap Project in Cameroon, said the company’s chief geologist Alexander Shaw. The company reportedly identified this bauxite trend through detailed analysis of remote sensing imagery and previous drilling and field mapping. “We have identified three high-grade bauxite plateaux within the corridor and there is significant potential to identify additional high-grade plateaux along this highly-prospective trend,” said Mr. Shaw. The previous drilling across the high-grade bauxite trend’s three identified plateaux containing resources of 14.51 million tonnes with 49.09% bauxite and 2.35% silica. This month, the company is planning to begin drilling again along with the...
European Union is ready with retaliation plan if US imposes car tariffs: Trade Chief says
On Wednesday, November 14, the European Union Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said that EU is ready with its list of potential retaliation targets in case the US President Donald Trump levies auto tariffs on the bloc’s member states. However, as per the report, Malmstrom did not specify the US products on which the EU would impose retaliatory tariffs but said the list could include “all kinds” of products. “It could be cars, it could be agriculture, it could be industrial products - it could be everything. And we will do that, but hope we don’t have to get to that situation,” she said. Malmstrom also said to reporters after attending a meeting with the US Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer that the EU was willing to negotiate with a limited trade deal on industrial goods...
Aluminium car engine components producer Montupet records 10.7% rise in turnover but 4.4% dip in pre-tax profits
The French car parts firm Montupet’s new accounts has revealed a rise in turnover at the company’s Northern Ireland operation by 10.7 per cent to £87.3 million last year ended on December 31, The Telegraph UK reported. Headed by John McMichael, Montupet produces aluminium engine components for car manufacturers throughout Europe. But despite a hike in turnover, the company’s pre-tax profits took a 4.4 per cent year-on-year dip from £13.3 million to £12.7 million. However, the cost of sales increased by £6.5 million over the year to £69.2 million. Admin costs were also up by £1 million, although the company’s wage bill decreased from £21.6 million to £19.6 million. The employment rate also dipped from 582 in 2016 to 569 in 2017, the report said. Nevertheless, the company, which is now part...
Chinese secondary aluminium operating rates remain low in October due to sluggish demand
Shanghai Metals Market data showed operating rates across Chinese secondary aluminium producers averaged 56.81 per cent in October, down 1.44 percentage points from a month earlier and 3.19 percentage point from a year earlier. This month-on-month and year-on-year fall in secondary aluminium operating rate could be because of the weak demand for aluminium among downstream consumers. Production and sales of automobile in October decreased by 10.1 per cent and 11.7 per cent year-on-year respectively, showed data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM). During January-October, production and sales also stood lower by 0.4 per cent and 0.1 per cent than the same period last year. The downbeat consumption figures came in line with SMM’s research on output across Chinese...
Trudeau hoping to reach aluminium and steel tariff exemption deal with US
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is reportedly hoping to reach an exemption deal from the Trump administration’s duties on imported aluminium and steel products later this month. Trudeau said in reference to the US President Donald Trump “"We will meet at the G20 in Argentina and we hope to have good news at that point." The Group of 20 (G20) leading global economies is going to host a two-day summit in Buenos Aires from 30 November. According to the report, Trudeau already had a brief discussion with Mr. Trump in Paris on the exemption of customs duties, where they both decided in commemorations to mark the end of World War I. Trudeau himself said that they both agreed to work on eliminating these tariffs. On June 1, 2018, the United States had slapped tariffs on imported aluminium...
Aluminium ingot price in east China records a slight rise on active downstream consumption: SMM
Shanghai Metals Market research found most transactions of spot aluminium in Shanghai were done between discounts of RMB 10 per tonne to premiums of RMB 20 per tonne on Tuesday, November 13, relative to the SHFE 1811 contraction. The SHFE aluminium contract for November delivery traded range-bound on Tuesday morning while in Shanghai, most transactions occurred with discounts of up to RMB 10 per tonne from the previous day. Traded prices in Shanghai and Wuxi were heard at RMB 13720 per tonne to RMB 13740 per tonne and in Hangzhou at RMB 13730 per tonne to RMB 13750 per tonne. Transactions between traders remained brisk but overall trading liquidity across eastern markets improved from the previous day as sellers remained keen to offload cargoes and downstream consumers showed keenness to...
Hindalco to inject INR 6000 crore for establishing downstream units in Odisha & Gujarat
Hindalco, the world’s largest aluminium rolling company, has announced to invest INR 6,000 crore towards setting up of downstream facilities in Odisha and Gujarat. While in the Sambalpur district of Odisha the company will establish a flat-rolled products unit, in Mudra at Gujarat the company is considering to set up an extrusion plant. “We have committed to set up downstream facilities in Gujarat and here in Odisha by investing over ₹6,000 crore over the next four years,” Pai told BusinessLine during an interview on the sidelines of the Make-in-Odisha Conclave 2018, a biennial investor conclave, organised by the State Government. According to Satish Pai, managing director of Hindalco, expansion of units for downstream products takes time and will be done through a phase-wise manner. In a...
Vedanta to invest INR 15,000 crore in Odisha to raise alumina refinery capacity
Vedanta Resources Chairman Anil Agarwal announced on Monday, November 12, about its plan to invest INR 15,000 crore for ramping up the alumina refinery capacity at Lanjigarh to 6 million tonnes per annum and firming up the downstream sector in Odisha in next three years. “The expansion of the Lanjigarh plant in phases would increase the capacity of the refinery from the existing two million tonnes per annum (mtpa) to four mtpa and then to six mtpa in the next three years,” said Mr. Agarwal while addressing the Make in Odisha Conclave. He also said while addressing the conclave and interacting with journalists, “Vedanta has already invested over Rs 50,000 crore in Odisha projects. Fresh investment of Rs 15,000 crore will be made in the next three years for the expansion of Lanjigarh...
Germany’s aluminium powder and flakes import from Russia to grow 9.21% & Austria 11.2% Y-o-Y
Germany’s import of aluminium powder and flakes are reportedly witnessing a year-on-year growth. According to global export-import data, Germany in 2017 had imported 31,135 tonnes, up almost 8 percent from 28,885 tonnes in 2016. This year is estimated to record no exception either. The total import volume is likely to be at 32,775 tonnes, up 5.26 per cent year-on-year. Aluminium powder and flakes are widely used in industrial, automotive, chemical, construction, explosives, defence, aerospace and other sectors. According to the Technavio's report, the global aluminium powders, pastes, and flakes market to grow at a CAGR of 4.87% during the period 2016-2020. In 2017, the top exporter of aluminium powder and flakes to Germany was the Russian Federation, which delivered 13,590 tonnes in...
Shandong Province in China to reorganise its aluminium sector: Source says
As announced last week that Shandong made a seven-year plan to reorganise its aluminium sector from the ground up. Regulators anticipate that this move will yield significant benefits to the country’s processing and fabricating firms. Shandong’s provincial government officially released this plan, entitled “Implementation Plan to Accelerate High-quality Development of Seven Industries with High Energy Consumption” on November 5, as part of an official notice. The primary aim of this plan is to ramp up the operational efficiency and quality by streamlining the structure of several major industries in Shandong. The major industries include aluminium, steel, and petroleum coke production. As per the report, the provincial government also intends to reduce the electrical usage, first by...
Vetroplas partners with Spanish aluminium bottle manufacturer Envases to extend packaging options
The UK-based packaging company Vetroplas has reportedly got into a partnership with Spanish aluminium bottle manufacturer Envases to extend its packaging options to the UK cosmetic and personal care market. Envases with over 60 years of experience produces highly decorative aluminium packs with both FEA 15 crimp necks and various screw necks, offering excellent barrier properties and protection from light and moisture. The packs they produce are fully recyclable and environmentally sustainable in line with current trends. This new partnership contract between Vetroplas and Envases will allow the aluminium bottles, manufactured by Envases to be paired with Vetroplas’ own closures including crimp-on pumps and screw neck caps. Those aluminium bottles are suitable for a variety of products...
