Bauxite price surge regains market confidence at ASX, with stocks projected to return to IPOs

In conversation with Stockhead, a business news publication dedicated to connecting investors with emerging ASX-listed companies, Lowell Resources Fund's chief investment officer, John Forwood, highlights that the booming bauxite prices are bringing attention back to ASX stocks and how. To his surprise, the unprecedented rise in bauxite and alumina prices has made some of Australia's top fund managers vigilant of these commodities.

In the Chinese market, the world's largest consumer of bauxite and alumina, Guinea bauxite price is currently standing at US$92 per tonne, marking an increase of about 20 per cent since the bauxite export suspension by EGA-owned Guinea Alumina Corporation (GAC) in early October. Since the beginning of the year, the price has surged by 31 per cent until now. The Australian bauxite price has increased by 5 per cent since mid-October and 30 per cent since the beginning of the month, reaching US$70 per tonne.

The year-to-date Australian alumina FOB price has skyrocketed by 126 per cent to US$785 per tonne as of December 2, 2024, driven by frequent events of supply disruptions throughout the year. From the closure of Alcoa's Kwinana refinery to force majeure at Rio Tinto's Australian plants in Queensland, all the events caused bauxite supply disruptions, leading to an alumina price hike. The recent development in Guinea also added volatility in the market, propelling alumina price growth.