For the past two decades, the US aluminium industry has been treading through a volatile path, with a domestic primary aluminium sector deteriorating at a rapid and alarming rate, and the number of operational smelters falling from around thirty to only four. Primary aluminum output was estimated at 660,000 metric tons in 2025, leaving the country heavily reliant on imports. The situation was compounded by the Section 232 tariffs on aluminum products, further blocking the inbound trade. The rebuilding of domestic capacity, therefore, is not only about restarting or constructing smelters. It also depends on the infrastructure and technology needed to transform molten aluminum into usable products, maintain ageing electrolysis assets, process scrap efficiently, and improve metal quality....
China’s domestic aluminium inventories declined, giving some support to aluminium prices. However, China’s aluminium production remained high, while a new alumina project in Guangxi entered trial production and is expected to add to future supply. For aluminium, the fall in domestic inventories is a positive factor for prices. However, the supply picture remains mixed, as China’s aluminium production reached a record 4 million tonnes in August, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Output was 4.7 per cent higher year on year, while production during January-August reached around 31 million tonnes, up 3.9 per cent from the same period last year. At the current pace, annual production could reach around 47 million tonnes, above the country’s long-standing 45-million-tonne...
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LME aluminium opened at US$2,418 per tonne on Tuesday, with its high and low at US$2,485 per tonne and US$2,407 per tonne, respectively, before closing at US$2,454 per tonne, an increase of US$43.5 per tonne or 1.8 per cent. On Tuesday, December 13, both LME aluminium cash bid price and LME aluminium official settlement price climbed down by US$2.5 per tonne or 0.10 per cent and US$2 per tonne or 0.08 per cent to halt at US$2,387 per tonne and US$2,388 per tonne. 3-month bid price and 3-month offer price inched down by US$1 per tonne or 0.04 per cent and US$2 per tonne or 0.08 per cent. December 23 bid price and December 23 offer price slipped by US$3 per tonne to halt at US$2,503 per tonne and US$2,508 per tonne. LME aluminium opening stock came in at 496425 tonnes. Live warrants and...
Hindalco Industries Limited has slashed its aluminium ingot and aluminium products prices, with effect from Tuesday, December 13, following a hike a weak ago. According to the latest price chart revealed by the company, aluminium ingot price has experienced a cut of INR 5,500 per tonne or 2.36 per cent to stand at INR 227,250 per tonne as of December 13 versus INR 232,750 per tonne on December 6. Hindalco’s aluminium wire rod price has also seen a decline of INR 5,500 per tonne, with effect from December 13, to peg at INR 238,350 per tonne, compared to INR 243,850 per on December 6. Aluminium billets price is no exception but also undergone a fall by the same amount to come in at INR 241,350 per tonne. On December 6, the price stood at INR 246,850 per tonne after been raised by INR 4,500...
LME aluminium opened at US$2,468 per tonne on Monday, with its high and low at US$2,468 per tonne and US$2,402 per tonne respectively before closing at US$2,411 per tonne, a drop of US$59 per tonne or 2.39 per cent. On December 12, Monday, LME aluminium cash bid price and the LME aluminium official settlement price both downsized by US$63.50 per tonne or 2.59 per cent, beginning the week at US$2,389.50 per tonne and US$2,390 per tonne, respectively. The 3-month bid price saw a decline of US$59.50 per tonne or 2.39 per cent, settling at US$2,428 per tonne, while the 3-month offer price had a price slump of US$58 per tonne or 2.33 per cent, resting at US$2,430 per tonne. December 23 bid price and December 23 offer price both plunged US$53 per tonne or 2.07 per cent, stopping at US$2,500 per...
The 24th edition of the Arab International Aluminum Conference (Arabal) hosted by Egyptalum from November 29 to December 1, 2022, was a massive success at the Nile Ritz Carlton in Cairo, Egypt. With around 22 exhibitors, the event was attended by top companies like Sohar Aluminium, EGA, Aluminium Bahrain (Alba), Mozal Aluminium, etc. The theme of this year's event was "Enabling a more sustainable future," and it included insights from top industry stalwarts from every segment of the aluminium supply chain, including smelters, producers, technology providers, financiers, and end users. Arabal is the region's premier aluminium event and offers a prime setting for networking and exchanging answers to the world's problems. The event was attended by top industry experts like Abdulnasser Bin...
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On December 12, 2022, under the directives of Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba)’s Chief Executive Officer Ali Al Baqali, the company rolled out a mini plant-wide Safety & E.S.G. Campaign, ‘Back to Core Basics’. The campaign was commenced with a welcoming note by Alba’s CEO, followed by an interactive Executive Panel Discussion featuring Alba’s Chief Marketing Officer, Khalid A. Latif and Chief Operations Officer, Dr Abdulla Habib, as well as senior officials from Major Contracting Companies -- MD of SMS WLL John Witter and MD of SKD Group S. Hassan Al Durazi. The panel discussion was moderated by Mohamed Khalil Saeed, Alba's Director of Safety, Health, and Environment, and explored ways to improve Alba's and Contractors' Safety missions. While speaking at the launch event of this...
The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), Indonesia, solicited PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminum (Persero) or Inalum operating to expedite the accomplishment of development projects and increase the capacity of the aluminium smelter and alumina refinery. However, this is in line with the issuance of a government regulation (PP) regarding the uncoupling of business operations or the split-off of the state-owned mining company and BUMN Mining Industry Holding Indonesia (MIND ID). Agus Tjahajana, the special staff to the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources for the Acceleration of Industrial Development of the Energy and Mineral Resources Sector, said, "The split-off is expected to make Inalum Operating more serious in accelerating processing and production capacity increases to...
On Thursday, December 8, the social inventory of aluminium billets was 71,600 tonnes, up 2,600 tonnes from the previous week but down 4,300 tonnes from the previous Monday, December 5. The inventory increased by 4,300 tonnes from November's end but decreased by 13,900 tonnes from the prior year. Aluminium billets can be produced immediately by continuous casting, extrusion, or hot rolling an ingot or bloom. The figure below provides further information on the current state of aluminium billet inventories in China: As per the SMM reports, the aluminium billet inventories had increased in almost all the major provinces. The inventories in Foshan and Huzhou had ascended by 3,900 tonnes and 1,000 tonnes to settle at 48,300 tonnes and 8,000 tonnes. On the other hand, in Wuxi and Changzhou, the...
The World Trade Organization (WTO) ruled on Friday that the 2018 tariffs placed on foreign aluminium and steel by then-President Donald Trump were unjustified, which was unaccepted by the Biden administration. The Biden administration took action to avoid the tariffs, but it disagreed with the WTO's judgement and said it exceeded its power by rejecting levies because of national security concerns. Reports indicate that WTO's ruling won't significantly affect the world. If the United States challenges the decision, it will be ineffective since the WTO's Appellate Body has not been operational for three years due to the United States blocking the nomination of new judges. "The United States strongly rejects the flawed interpretation and conclusions. The United States has held the clear and...
China’s aluminium production in November 2022 (30 calendar days) amounted to 3.34 million tonnes, which reflected an increase of 8.7 per cent year-on-year, found the Shanghai Metals Market. But on a month-on-month calculation, the output stood 2.05 per cent lower than 3.41 million tonnes (31 calendar days). That indicated aluminium production in November’22 saw both increase and decrease; however, the growth was more significant based on rising production capacity due to the resumption of smelters in Guangxi and Sichuan. Despite the downfall in monthly production in November, China’s daily aluminium output rose from 110,100 tonnes to 111,200 tonnes. China’s total aluminium production from January to November stood at 36.64 million tonnes, up by 3.7 per cent from the same period last year....
LME aluminium opened at US$2,499.5 per tonne last Friday, with its high and low at US$2,517 per tonne and US$2,470 per tonne, respectively, before closing at US$2,470 per tonne, a drop of US$30 per tonne or 1.2 per cent. On Friday, December 9, both LME aluminium cash bid price and LME aluminium official settlement price slipped by US$14.5 per tonne or 0.58 per cent and US$15 per tonne or 0.60 per cent to settle at US$2,453 per tonne and US$2,453.50 per tonne. 3-month bid price and 3-month offer price slumped by US$8.5 per tonne or 0.34 per cent and US$10 per tonne or 0.40 per cent to close at US$2,487.50 per tonne and US$2,488 per tonne. December 23 bid price and December 23 offer price dipped by US$7 per tonne or 0.27 per cent to peg at US$2,553 per tonne and US$2,558 per tonne. LME...
A00 aluminium ingot price has seen a huge plunge of RMB 300 per tonne, resting at RMB 18,960 per tonne, as the Shanghai Metals Market recorded on Monday, December 12. The average prices are expected to range between RMB 18,940 per tonne and RMB 18,980 per tonne, with spot contracts trading at premium prices of RMB 10 per tonne and a discount price of RMB 30 per tonne. The provinces in China all have witnessed plummeting prices today, with aluminium price showing the highest fall in Tianjin by RMB 320 per tonne, resting at RMB 18,980 per tonne, followed by RMB 310 per tonne slump in Foshan to halt at RMB 18,890 per tonne. The prices of aluminium in Hangzhou and Chongqing both have nosedived by RMB 300 per tonne, closing at RMB 18,970 per tonne and RMB 19,000 per tonne. In Wuxi, the...
Sustainability in the primary aluminium industry has grabbed the limelight this year. Both producers and consumers are increasingly making efforts to achieve a sustainable future. While the former are adopting innovative technologies and developing skills to reduce carbon emissions for producing the metal, the latter are making conscious attempts to consume low-carbon primary metal to manufacture greener semi-finished products. The year 2022 has really been an eventful one in respect to sustainability drives in the primary aluminium sector. Let us pick and learn the top 10 initiatives in this article. Alba signs MoU with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to reduce its carbon footprint The year began with Alba’s collaboration with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries EMEA Ltd. (MHI EMEA), a subsidiary of...
This week the primary aluminium sector faced major market-related ups and down, with Rusal chief executive Evgenii Nikitin warning the deputy prime minister of Ireland, Leo Varadkar, on the boycott of Russian aluminium and its harrowing effects on the EU’s national economy. On December 5, the International Aluminium Institute (IAI) posted a report tracing the current contributions of the aluminium sector to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). Sohar International Bank took part in the inauguration of Sanvira Carbon FZC LLC (SCL), an important manufacturing project financed by the Omani investment group under the esteemed patronage of H.E. Salim bin Nasser bin Said Al Aufi, Minister of Oil and Gas. The LME benchmark aluminium price clocked at US$2448.50 per tonne on...
The panel in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) dispute resolution processes in which Switzerland contested the restrictions put in place by the US on aluminium and steel since 2018 released its final report on December 9, 2022. The tribunal favoured Switzerland after concluding that the US regulations are against the GATT. The panel listened to Switzerland's legal defence. In its findings, the board concluded that the US measures had violated multiple GATT rules and were not justified by the security exemption outlined in the agreement. Invoking national security concerns, the United States (US) imposed extra taxes of 10 per cent on certain imports of aluminium products and 25 per cent on certain imports of steel products from March 23 2018. Switzerland started WTO dispute settlement...
According to the Shanghai Metals Market, China's primary aluminium inventories have remained stagnant at 500,000 tonnes accumulating data from all the eight major consumption areas, including SHFE warrants, on Thursday, December 8. The inventories in comparison with the month's first Monday, December 5, plummeted by 7,000 tonnes. As of now, the inventories in December dropped by 452,000 tonnes, as recorded in the same period last year and 16,000 tonnes on a month-on-month scale. To paint the whole picture, it must be mentioned that on average, the aluminium ingot social inventory has been down for the past two weeks, with spot cargoes in east China trading at a highly tagged premium. Although the downstream demand has withered away due to extreme aluminium prices, survey data says...
National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO) has elevated its aluminium ingot and aluminium products prices, effective from December 7, in line with the LME aluminium price hike over a week. NALCO has significantly increased its aluminium ingot price by INR 14,700 per tonne or 6.6 per cent from INR 220,450-223,950 per tonne on November 29 to INR 235,150-238,650 per tonne on December 7. NALCO has also raised its aluminium wire rod price by INR 14,700 per tonne, with effect from December 7, to sell the product at INR 239,650- 244,000 per tonne versus INR 224,950-229,300 per tonne a week ago. Aluminium billets price is no exception but seen a lift of the same amount with effect from December 7 to be sold at INR 239,600-242,250 per tonne, compared to INR 224,900-227,550 per tonne on November...
Chris Blenkiron, the chief executive of New Zealand Aluminium Smelters Limited (NZAS), stated that smelting is better for the environment than a "green hydrogen" plant since it employs more people and generates more income per unit of electricity used. However, if a new power supply agreement with power producers is not reached by the end of 2024, the Tiwai Point Aluminium Smelter, owned by NZAS will have to shut down. Chris Blenkiron stated, "I'm hopeful that through our aluminium, our participation in the energy sector and our determination to be responsible environmental guardians that our story can continue beyond 2024," There is a rumour that a deal is close to being called. According to the reports, Chris Blenkiron revealed to the Trans-Tasman Business Council that he has been in...
The Russian aluminium giant Rusal, which is also among the biggest producers of aluminium worldwide, has risen to the top of the annual Donor Forum association ranking for corporate social responsibility. RUSAL received the highest rating possible and was placed in the A + category, as determined by the findings of the study of company social investment systems. A competition for corporate social activities was launched by Donor Forum this year as well. The expert jury gave two of RUSAL's social programmes top marks, and both took home awards. The programme "Sustainable Development of Social Responsibility Territories" came in second place in the category "The Best Corporate Social Investment Program in the Territories in the Context of Sustainable Development and Business Strategy." This...
