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.
Strong future prices of aluminium give rise to trading in China’s spot market
With an incessant rise in aluminium future price in China as a consequence of US sanctions against Rusal, a large number of brokers and downstream consumers are becoming keen to purchase and stock aluminium for their future use, thereby, contributing to an enthusiastic trading activity in China’s spot aluminium market across all the major Chinese cities on Thursday April 19, 2018, Shanghai Metal Market research found. While in Shanghai, most transactions stood between RMB 15080 per tonne and RMB 15160 per tonne with spot discounts hovering at RMB 60 to RMB 50 against the 1805 contract, in Wuxi and Hangzhou, transactions were seen strolling around RMB 15070 per tonne to RMB 15150 per tonne and RMB 15080 per tonne to RMB 15170 per tonne respectively. In Guangdong, on the other hand, were...
Alcoa likely to redirect 800,000 tonnes of bauxite to the global market
Roy Harvey, CEO of Alcoa Corporation, a global leader in bauxite, alumina and aluminium production, announced on Wednesday April 18, 2018, the company will redirect 800,000 tonnes of bauxite to the market which was otherwise committed to Rusal. As a consequence of US sanctions, Harvey believes that there is likely to be a global deficit in both aluminium and alumina this year. On asking repeatedly about the ultimate impact of the US sanctions on Russia, he says the situation is complex and is difficult to predict. Due to delays in projects to expand smelters in China, the company estimates the global aluminium deficit to grow between 600,000 tonnes and 1 million tonnes, up from last quarter’s deficit estimates between 300,000 tonnes and 700,000 tonnes, while global aluminium demand is...
Acer unveils Avengers inspired new editions aluminium laptops in India
Inspired by the most marvel cinematic universe’s film Avengers, Taiwan-based computer hardware manufacturer Acer has unveiled three limited-editions laptops made from aluminium. The series includes the Aspire 6 Captain America Edition, the Nitro 5 Thanos Edition, and the Swift 3 Iron Man Edition. Following the existing Acer models, these new editions are specially customised to fit the Avengers theme which offers decent specifications and competitive pricing. Decked in striking blue with aluminium cover that embodies the spirit of Captain America, Acer Aspire 6 Captain America Edition is powered by an 8th Gen Intel Core i5-8250U CPU and NVIDIA GeForce MX150 GPU. It houses 8GB of DDR4 RAM and 1TB of SATA HDD storage and is equipped with an HD camera with HDR while Dolby Audio Premium. For...
Japanese companies stop procuring aluminium from Rusal following US sanctions: Sources
Following Glencore and Rio Tinto’s decision to declare force majeure on Russian aluminium contracts, Japanese companies have asked Russia’s united company Rusal not to ship refined aluminium and other products to them further. On the occasion of US sanctions against world’s No. 2 aluminium producer Rusal, many Japanese buyers are also left with concerns about the limited availability of aluminium and lifting global prices by a fifth. On London Metal Exchange (LME), the aluminium price has already hit the highest in last six years, hovering at US$2400 per tonne. "We have requested Rusal stop shipments of aluminum for our term contracts as we can't make payment in U.S. dollars and we don't want to take the risk of becoming a secondary sanction target by the United States," said an anonymous...
Aluminium stock prices soaring high, so as average A00 aluminium ingot: SMM learned
Amid soaring aluminium prices across the globe, aluminium companies in China are indeed savouring propitious time as their stock prices reach the highest level. Shanghai Metal Market learned early this morning 19 th of April, 2018 that the stock prices of Aluminium Corporation of China (Chalco) climbed 6 per cent to hit the highest level of 4.96 yuan per share in last one month. On the event of US sanctions against Russian aluminium companies including the aluminium giant Rusal, as well as, Glencore’s and Rio’s decision to declare force majeure on Russia-linked contracts have jointly triggered the price surge of both aluminium and alumina globally. According to Shanghai Metal Market, China too is witnessing a price hike, as the price of average A00 aluminium ingot surged remarkably from...
Alumina price jumps highest as a consequence of Rio Tinto’s force majeure
Rio Tinto’s decision to declare force majeure on Rusal-linked contracts is already leaving innumerable impacts, including alumina price rise. Rio said it decided to announce force majeure on Friday April 13, 2018, on certain customer contracts like alumina shipments from a refinery in Australia with which Rusal is also associated, bauxite shipments to a Rusal alumina refinery in Ireland, as well as alumina supply from the same refinery to smelters in Europe. Following this decision, COMEX alumina futures for delivery in May jumped 15 percent on Friday itself, while global alumina price rose to its highest today April 18, 2018 since September 2011, climbing to as much as $2,445 per ton. Rio’s force majeure announcement is also likely to trigger global alumina supply constraints, especially...
Rio’s aluminium production plunged 5% YOY in Q1 2018, however, hopeful for the future
One of the world’s largest metals and mining corporations Rio Tinto today announced aluminium output for the first quarter of 2018. The production has plunged by 5 per cent in Q1 to stand at 0.8 million tonnes against the contemporary period last year. This is primarily due to disruptions at its Becancour smelter in Canada. The company has declared its total divestments of US$5 billion for 2018 as well, subject to binding offers for the Aluminium Dunkerque smelter in France for US$500 million and the ISAL aluminium smelter in Iceland for US$345 million. The sales are expected to complete in the second quarter of 2018. Rio also reported that it is reviewing Rusal’s 20 per cent stake in its Queensland Alumina Refinery, along with bauxite sales to Rusal’s refinery in Ireland and offtake...
Winel uplifts its product range ‘CMO’ aluminium tank vent check valve
Winel BV announced a new addition to its product range CMO aluminium overflow tank vent check valve with a mighty pride last week. The product is manufactured from a seawater resistant ALMG4.5 aluminium alloy and available in a wide range of sizes right from DN40 to DN400. It is lightweight and has a slimline design but rigid with high flow capacity. This new development compliments Winel’s ‘standard’ type CM aluminium tank vent check valve launched in Autumn 2016. Tank vent check valves or vent heads as they are commonly known are meant to use on any type of commercial ship or yacht, navy vessel and offshore platform for ventilating ballast and voiding tanks on ships, while preventing any contamination of the contents of the tank with water during rough seas. The previous version of the...
A00 aluminium ingot price sees no further change, while alumina registers a hike
After the stupendous surge in average A00 aluminium ingot price from RMB 14450 per tonne to RMB 14720 per tonne on April 17, 2018 on the occasion of aluminium production rise to 8.12 million tonnes in China in the first quarter of 2018, it again remained unchanged on April 18, 2018, Shanghai Metal Market learned. Like the previous day, the prices are expected to range between RMB 14700 and RMB 14740 per tonne, with a slight swing in spot discounts to settle at RMB 70 to RMB 30 per tonne. However, a few major markets in China have registered slight changes on the positive note, including East, South and North, wherein the aluminium ingot prices witnessed a growth to RMB 14715 per tonne from RMB 14690, RMB 14720 per tonne from RMB 14685, and RMB 14730 per tonne from RMB 14720 respectively....
Hydro’s production cut and US Sanctions on Rusal could steer insufficient aluminium supply
Two back-to-back incidents in the aluminium industry, started with Norsk Hydro’s production cut followed by the US sanctions against Russian aluminium oligarch Oleg Deripaska-led Rusal could lead to aluminium supply starvation in global market, said Hydro’s chief executive on Monday April 16, 2018. The situation may get worsen further if Hydro’s production cut at its aluminium plant Albras in Brazil continues longer, in addition to an unresolved dispute at its nearby Alunorte alumina refinery. It may even result in an output cut at Norwegian smelter, which receives alumina from Alunorte, said Svein Richard Brandtzaeg. “This is not positive for the aluminum industry. We’ve got long-term customers seeking stable relations, and our car-making customers are particularly worried in this...
European Union seeks safeguards from WTO over US aluminium and steel tariffs
The European Union’s temporary relief from the US imported aluminium and steel tariffs is approaching an end since the impunity is valid only until May 1, 2018 and is subject to further discussion. The White House said, “By May 1, 2018, the president will decide whether to continue to exempt these countries from the tariffs, based on the status of the discussions.” So, following China, the European Union today April 17, 2018 corresponded with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) seeking safeguards from the US tariffs on imported aluminium and steel. According to a statement published on the world trade body’s website, European Union said "Having a substantial interest as an exporter in this case, the European Union requests consultations with the United States to agree safeguards". The...
Odisha to roll out integrated coach factory for aluminium-bodied train by 2020
News on aluminium-bodied train sets ‘Train 20’ is strolling on the internet since long while apprising us with all the latest updates that the train sets, estimated to cost INR 2,500 crore would start rolling out of the Railways’ Integrated Coach Factory (ICF) near Chennai by 2020, followed by Integral Coach Factory General Manager S. Mani’s announcement on the same. To move a step forward, now Odisha, being one of the largest aluminium producing states, is keen to establish an integrated coach factory for aluminium-bodied train sets. Stating about this interest, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik wrote a letter to Railways Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday. Patnaik mentioned in the letter that the state government is keen to establish this project and wish to roll it out by 2020....
Average A00 aluminium ingot price surged on rising aluminium production
On 0.3 per cent increase in aluminium production over past three months this year totalling 8.12 million tonnes in China, average A00 aluminium ingot price surged once again across all major Chinese markets and closed at RMB 14720 per tonne after remaining unchanged at RMB 14450 from April 13 to April 16, 2018, according to Shanghai Metal Market on April 17, 2018. The prices are expected to range between RMB 14700 and RMB 14740 per tonne, with spot discounts to settle at RMB 60 to RMB 20 per tonne. Prices registered a growth from RMB 50 per tonne to RMB 270 per tonne across all markets. While in East, the ingot price jumped from RMB 14455 per tonne to RMB 14690 per tonne; in North, the price registered a hike from RMB 14440 per tonne to RMB 14720 per tonne, as on April 17, 2018. Although...
Bauxite production likely to ramp-up globally in the next few years
As per the recent report by BMI research, bauxite production is likely to grow globally over the years owing to the estimated increasing production in India, upcoming projects lined up in Australia and Indonesia’s reappearance in the market following the end of the mineral ore export ban. The report estimates that Indonesia will become a major player in coming time for reclaiming its share of bauxite exports to China and further elaborates “"We forecast Indonesia's bauxite production growth to register an annual average of 24.4% during 2018-2027, compared to 77.1% over the previous ten-year period. We expect output to increase from 7.5 million tonnes in 2018 to 43.3 million tonnes by 2027." According to BMI, the relaxation of the ban on bauxite exports allowed many companies to have a...
Rio to trigger force majeure on alumina refinery controlled by Rusal
After Glencore, Rio Tinto, one of the world’s largest metals and mining corporations has decided to trigger force majeure on some Rusal-linked contracts. The mining group declared on Friday that it would work with its customers to minimise disruptions in raw material supply and would fully comply with the US sanctions and therefore, would terminate bauxite supply contracts with a giant alumina refinery in Ireland controlled by Rusal group. This is to ensure the certainty of output from Rio’s big refinery in Queensland where Rusal owns 20 per cent share. The rest 80 per cent share of the refinery is owned by Rio. The refinery produces 3.95 million tonnes of alumina every year, whereas Rio produced 3.6 million tonnes of aluminium in 2017. Rio said in the statement, “Rio Tinto has reviewed...
China's aluminium inventory drops while average A00 aluminium ingot price remains unchanged
After swinging between 2.231 million tonnes and 2.227 million tonnes over a week, China’s aluminium inventory dropped further to 2.216 million tonnes, according to Shanghai Metal Market on April 16, 2018. This is 15000 million tonnes down from 2.231 million tonnes recorded on April 12, 2018. Transactions in major Chinese cities have plunged, as indicated in the below chart. According to SMM, the average A00 aluminium ingot price remains flat since 13th of April, 2018 at RMB 14450 per tonne. This indicates a stable market sentiment with not much shift or alteration. The prices are expected to continue ranging between RMB 14430 and RMB 14470 per tonne, with only a slight swing in spot discounts to settle at RMB 110 to RMB 70 per tonne. While in East the average aluminium ingot price is...
Indian aluminium producers expected to reap benefits from the US sanctions against Rusal
According to the Quint report, Indian aluminium producers, especially the integrated ones having presence right from raw material to final product like Hindalco and Nalco are likely to be benefitted on the US sanctions against twelve Russian companies including billionaire Oleg Deripaska-led Rusal, said Gautam Chakraborty, analyst-institutional research at brokerage Emkay Global Financial Services. The sanctions against Rusal followed by the ban of Russian aluminium prices on the London Metal Exchange has resulted in inevitable price jump by 8 per cent in the last two days, primarily because Rusal accounted for 13 per cent of the global output outside China and recorded to produce 3.71 million tonnes of primary aluminium in 2017 and also earned about 14 per cent of revenue from the export...
Vedanta to save INR 800 per tonne on securing bauxite from Kodingamali mines
After several rounds of discussion and year-long struggle, Vedanta Aluminium Limited finally sealed a deal with the OMC to haul bauxite from Kodingamali mines to Lanjigarh refinery, as reported on April 12, 2018. According to the previous news, Vedanta had expected to pay high costs to transport bauxite from Kodingamali mines to Lanjigarh refinery due to the lack of direct rail route. The estimated cost was INR 1000 to INR 1200 per tonne. But now, as per the current report, the company is expecting to secure 0.8 million tonnes of bauxite from the OMC at INR 700 to INR 800 per tonne cheaper compared to the landed cost of bauxite at the Lanjigarh plant site. In the first ever auction of bauxite at the country, Vedanta, Hindalco and Anrak Aluminium could seize 0.19 million tonnes of bauxite...
