Global primary aluminium production experienced a sequential recovery in the third quarter of 2026, supported by the gradual restoration of disrupted smelting capacity in the GCC countries, stronger operational performance in Europe and Oceania, and incremental production gains across Asia and China. But beneath this quarterly improvement lies a contrasting reality - global output remained below the corresponding levels of both 2025 and 2024. According to data from the International Aluminium Institute (IAI), global primary aluminium production reached 18.377 million tonnes in Q3 2026, an increase of 2.1 per cent from 18.003 million tonnes in the preceding quarter. However, compared with Q3 2025, when production totalled 18.683 million tonnes, output declined by 1.64 per cent. Production...
Europe's aluminium industry is facing mounting pressure from rising carbon costs, shifting trade policies and limited willingness among buyers to pay premiums for low-carbon metal. Yet, despite a series of crises since the Covid pandemic, producers remain committed to maintaining their presence in Europe and investing in decarbonisation, said Paul Voss, Director General of European Aluminium. In an exclusive interview with Fastmarkets at Aluminium Düsseldorf, Voss described the European aluminium industry's condition as bruised but resilient. He highlighted concerns over the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), the potential inclusion of indirect (Scope 2) emissions under the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and the treatment of aluminium scrap in carbon accounting. Reflecting on...
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Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba) has reportedly secured ASI Performance Certification for responsible production, sourcing, and stewardship of aluminium while remaining committed towards environmental, social, and governance performance. The ASI certification covers the production and marketing of primary aluminium, alumina, calcination of petroleum coke, water desalination, anode manufacturing, smelting, casting, and captive power generation. Alba’s audit for ASI Certification covered the Alba Calciner and Alba Smelter and was carried out by DNV GL. The aluminium company in 2019 became the world’s largest smelter outside of China for its Line 6 expansion project. Fiona Solomon, Chief Executive Officer at ASI said “Sincere congratulations to Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba) on achieving ASI...
AlCircle’s “Aluminium Industry Recap 2019” brings to you an opportunity to look back at the key developments in the year gone by. Although the year 2019 was an aftermath of trade wars, restrictive tariffs, sanctions, capacity cuts and price volatility that impacted the entire aluminium value chain, a few key expansions and developments of new projects marked the year eventful. To start with, EGA’s first bauxite project in Guinea, Rio Tinto’s commissioning of Amrun bauxite mine and, the beginning of mining and screening operations at Australian Bauxite Limited’s Bald Hill mine was some of the notable developments in the upstream sector, resulting in an increase in bauxite production all over the globe. But due to the surplus production, the global price of the ore remained sluggish, which...
The US dollar rose a four-week high against a basket its rivals on Friday. LME base metals closed mixed on Friday. LME aluminium shed 0.2% and SHFE aluminium lost 0.3%. LME aluminium gained to close Friday’s trading 0.11% higher at US$1,796/t on Friday. Three-month LME aluminium ended at US$1,805.5 per tonne on Friday, down 0.19%. LME aluminium is expected to remain rangebound today, between US$1,790-1,820 per tonne. As on Friday January 17, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stands at US$ 1795.5 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 1796 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 1807.5 per tonne, 3-months offer price is US$ 1808 per tonne; Dec 20 bid price stands at US$ 1937 per tonne, and Dec 20 offer price stands at US$ 1942 per tonne. The LME aluminium opening stock...
Aluminium inventories in China grew over the weekend by 21,000 tonnes, in contrast to 20,000 tonnes in the whole last week ended on January 16. Concentrated arrivals of stocks in some regions and weakening consumption as the world gears up for the Lunar New Year holidays were the two important factors for the faster growth as of today, found Shanghai Metals Market. SMM data showed the inventories increased to 651,000 tonnes across eight major consumption areas in China, including SHFE warrants as of Monday, January 20. In Wuxi, Nanhai, Hangzhou, and Tianjin, the inventories have increased by 12,000 tonnes, 7,000 tonnes, 6,000 tonnes, 1,000 tonnes over the weekend to stand at 213,000 tonnes, 139,000 tonnes, 72,000, and 58,000 tonnes respectively. In Shanghai, Chongqing, and Gongyi,...
The Pittsburg, US-based Arconic Manufacturing specialized in lightweight metals engineering and manufacturing with products like Aluminium gets approval of quarterly dividends from their board. The Board of Directors of Arconic (NYSE: ARNC) declared (a) a dividend of 2 % per share on the outstanding Common Stock of the Company, payable on 25 th February’20, to the holders of record of the Common Stock at the close of business on 7 th February’20; and (b) a dividend of 93.75% per share on Arconic’s $3.75 Cumulative Preferred Stock (“Class A Stock”), payable on 1 st April’20 to the holders of record of the Class A Stock at the close of business on 13 th March’20. Arconic creates breakthrough products that shape industries. The company works in close tie-ups with their customers and resolve...
Alcoa will reportedly continue operating its aluminium smelter in Victoria, despite a significant net global loss last year. According to the report, while Alcoa reported a $1.12 billion net global loss in 2019, the smelter received $200 million in Australian government subsidies as part of a four-year packaging ending in 2021. President Roy Harvey reasoned the loss saying “Australia has one of the highest energy price markets on the planet.” Alcoa is its Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2019 Results said that it expects some benefits from the lower costs of raw materials in 2020, but at the same time presumes the benefits to be offset by “higher energy costs, lower rolled products shipments, and unfavourable price and mix.” Alcoa recently sold its waste treatment facility in Gum Springs,...
A00 aluminium ingot price started the week with a decline of RMB 130 per tonne on Monday, January 13. The price continued to perform lower at RMB 14300 per tonne and RMB 14200 per tonne on January 14 and January 15. But the week ended higher at RMB14550 per tonne on Friday, January 17, up RMB 240 per tonne from Thursday. As updated by Shanghai Metals Market, social inventories of primary aluminium across eight consumption areas in China, including SHFE warrants, increased this week due to greater arrivals. Stocks stood at 630,000 tonnes as of Thursday January 16, up 20,000 tonnes. The chart below indicates the current status of primary aluminium inventories across China in more detail. As far as raw material is concerned, the average spot price of alumina started the week higher at RMB...
After a little ease last week, on Friday, January 10, on the news of the Trump administration imposing fresh sanctions on Iran and weaker-than-expected US jobs data, the US dollar on Monday, January 13, began the week steadily and continued to remain so the next day. However, on Wednesday and Thursday, January 15 and 16, it fell to a one-week low, as the US and China signed a deal to roll back some tariffs. Three-month LME aluminium began the week retreating to its lowest in more than a week at US$ 1,788.5 per tonne. LME aluminium gave back all the gains from the previous two days, as was expected to trade between US$ 1,780 per tonne and US$ 1,810/ per tonne on January 14. On January 15, LME aluminium closed higher at US$1,778.5 per tonne, while three-month LME aluminium ended at US$1,800...
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China’s annual aluminium production fell in 2019 for the first time in a decade. 35.04 million tonnes were the total aluminium production in China in 2019, down 0.9 per cent from record levels a year earlier, showed the NBS data. Outage at some major Chinese smelters since August and close down of some of the lines at China Hongqiao Group due to flooding in Shandong province were some of the reasons behind the annual aluminium output decline. The downfall in production also indicates China’s economic slowdown. China’s annual aluminium consumption was also set to fall for the first time in 30 years in 2019, showed the research data of Antaike. In December 2019, however, the aluminium output in China stood up month-on-month by 4.9 per cent to...
Rio Tinto’s aluminium production stood at 3.2 million tonnes in 2019, down 2% year-on-year, primarily reflecting a preventive safety shutdown of one of the three pot-lines at ISAL and earlier than planned pot relining at Kitimat. “Excluding the non-managed Becancour operation where a lock-out constrained operations, the Quebec and Pacific smelters performed well, with aluminium production for 2019 1% higher than 2018, reflecting continued productivity improvement. The restart of Becancour is progressing well, with full ramp-up expected by mid-2020,” Rio Tinto said. <iframe width="550" height="300" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9mNLmoaJmf0" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe> In the fourth quarter of...
A00 aluminium ingot price ended the week higher at RMB 14550 per tonne on Friday, 17 January 2020. The price registered a big jump of RMB 240 per tonne or 1.68 per cent from Thursday’s price of RMB 14310 per tonne. The price is expected to range at RMB 14530-14570 per tonne. Spot aluminium contract is likely to be traded at a premium of RMB 90-130 per tonne. Gongyi witnessed the highest rise in aluminium ingot price today. The price came in at RMB 14460 per tonne, up by RMB 330 per tonne. The average price is likely to move within a range of RMB 14450-14470 per tonne. In Foshan and Wuxi, aluminium ingot price increased by RMB 240 per tonne to stand at RMB 14560 per tonne and RMB 14540 per tonne. Their average prices are expected to range within RMB 14540-14580 per tonne and RMB...
The US dollar rallied from one-week lows against a basket its rivals on Thursday, January 16, as investors digested solid data on the US economy. Three-month LME aluminium climbed to a one-week high of US$ 1,818 per tonne on Thursday, before it finished the trading day 0.5 per cent firmer at US$ 1,809 per tonne. A significant increase in SHFE aluminium helped lift LME aluminium, but a stronger US dollar is likely to keep gains in LME aluminium in check. LME aluminium is expected to hover at US$ 1,790-1,820 per tonne today. LME aluminium cash (bid) price, on January 16, soared to US$ 1793.50 per tonne from US$1778 per tonne on January 15, while LME official settlement price jumped to US$ 1794 per tonne from US$ 1778.5 per tonne. 3-months bid price rose to US$ 1813 per tonne and 3-months...
Alcoa Corporation announced fourth quarter and full-year 2019 results. The company reported a net loss of $303 million in Q4 2019 compared with a net loss of $221 million in Q3 2019. Excluding the impact of special items, adjusted net loss stood at $57 million, from adjusted net loss of $82 million. Alcoa President and Chief Executive Officer Roy Harvey said: “In 2019, we acted to further strengthen Alcoa, completing the divestiture of uncompetitive assets, modernizing labor agreements in three countries, implementing a new operating model, and making quick progress on the asset review process we announced last quarter.” “While the market in alumina and aluminium challenged us, we maintained a strong cash balance of nearly $900 million and drove operational stability. Also, our low-cost,...
The US dollar fell to a one-week low against a basket its rivals on Wednesday, as the US and China signed a deal that will roll back some tariffs. LME aluminium price closed higher at US$1,778.5 per tonne on Wednesday, from US$1,767.5 per tonne. Three-month LME aluminium ended at US$1,800 per tonne on Wednesday, 0.44% weaker. The contract is expected to trade between US$1,790-1,820 per tonne today. As on Wednesday January 15, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stands at US$ 1778 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 1778.5 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 1805 per tonne, 3-months offer price is US$ 1805.5 per tonne; Dec 20 bid price stands at US$ 1940 per tonne, and Dec 20 offer price stands at US$ 1945 per tonne. The LME aluminium opening stock dropped to 1367875...
Alcoa, the American primary aluminium smelter, forecasts growing demand for aluminium in 2020 after a downtick in 2019 that accorded to its $1.1 billion loss for the year. The global aluminium demand is projected to grow between1.4-2.4%, improving from a 0.2-0.4% decline in 2019 by Alcoa. The company anticipates more equitable supply-demand dynamics for alumina and bauxite raw materials in 2020, even as its view that primary aluminium will oscillate to a surplus. The global market balance for aluminium is predicted between a 0.6-1million tonne surplus in 2020, driving back a 0.9-1.1 million tonnes deficit in 2019. Shipments of bauxite are expected to rise as much as 3% in 2020 to between 48-49 million dry metric tonnes from a year earlier, while alumina volumes edge up as much as 1% to...
According to Shanghai Metals Market, the A00 aluminium ingot price has recorded a significant rise of RMB 110 per tonne to RMB 14,310 per tonne on Thursday, January 16, after three consecutive drops from RMB 14,530 per tonne to RMB 14,200 per tonne. Since the beginning of the month, the A00 aluminium ingot price showed several downfalls on the growth of domestic stocks. But on monthly basis, the price stands higher by RMB 340 per tonne, as of today, January 16. The average prices today are expected to range between RMB 14,290 per tonne and RMB 14,330 per tonne, with spot contract to be traded a premium price of RMB 150 per tonne to RMB 190 per tonne. Among all the major cities, Wuxi has seen the highest price growth of RMB 150 per tonne to stand at RMB 14300 per tonne, followed by Gongyi...
The European Commission released the long-awaited Green Deal last December, which is presented as the EU’s new growth strategy for a climate-neutral, competitive, circular and socially just economy by mid-century. The aluminium industry is prepared to contribute to the intense transformation which Europe will have to experience to achieve these ambitions. In Europe aluminium is made, transformed and recycled. It is considered as the world’s most used non-ferrous metal due to its distinctive properties and functionality and it’s circular by nature. The demand for aluminium is expected to grow in Europe as it is becoming the material of choice for clean technology producers in applications like renewable energy, batteries, electricity systems, energy-efficient buildings, and sustainable...
The five primary aluminium producers in the GCC region produced a total of 5,771,854 tonnes of primary aluminium in 2019, according to Gulf Aluminium Council. That was up 6.72% or 363,600 tonnes year-on-year. The high-quality aluminium was shipped to the local as well as the international market. The increase was mainly due to the new line 6 expansion at Aluminium Bahrain. The top five aluminium producers in the GCC are: Emirates Global Aluminium(EGA) Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) Qatar Aluminium (Qatalum) Sohar Aluminium Maa’den The primary and downstream aluminium producers in the GCC contributes around 10% of the world aluminium demand exporting 60% of its production to more than 65 countries around the world. The GAC is a coordinating body that represents, promotes and protects the...
