In the first half (H1) of 2026, the US imported a total of 1.68 million metric tons of unwrought aluminum (HSN code: 7601), of which 16.96% was sourced from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). How has H1 2026 fared for the momentum of unwrought aluminum exports from the UAE to the US? Year-on-year cooling in trade can be noticed, largely owing to the temporary shutdown of the Emirates Global Aluminium’s (EGA’s) Al Taweelah smelter for repair and maintenance. Explore the production, demand and consumption forecasts of bauxite and alumina in our report: “ Global Bauxite & Alumina Market Forecast to 2036: Supply–Demand, Trade Flows & Price Outlook ” H1 aluminum trade snapshot: 2026 vs 2025 vs 2024 Comparing the H1 2026 figures of unwrought aluminum exported by the UAE to the US, a mixed result...
Norsk Hydro’s earnings outlook for 2027 is facing mounting pressure from falling aluminium premiums, rising operating costs and easing supply tightness in Europe, prompting Goldman Sachs to downgrade the Norwegian producer from ‘buy’ to ‘neutral’ and reduce its price target from NOK 100 (USD 10.71) to NOK 79 (USD 8.46). Goldman said weaker premiums and higher costs were making further earnings growth harder to achieve in 2027. The bank also lowered its core earnings (EBITDA) forecasts for 2026 and 2027 by 6 per cent each, citing lower aluminium prices and rising costs. The changing market conditions come as additional metal from the Middle East reaches the market and Indonesian aluminium supply expands faster than expected, easing European supply constraints sooner than Goldman had...
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The London Metal Exchange (LME) aluminium contract entered 2026 with a bang of a hike, as in early January, the three-month contract crossed USD 3,000 per tonne for the first time since 2022, trading at USD 3,015.50 before extending gains later in the month. The move was not the product of speculative momentum alone. Back in 2022 production and energy costs, China’s production cap and Russia-Ukraine’s war imparted their fair share of spices into the price hike scenario. But this time, it reflected a convergence of constrained supply, tightening physical availability and US and EU’s policy-driven rigidity, consequently leading to altered price expectations for the rest of 2026. For the global aluminium value-chain 2026 outlook, get our exclusive report “ Global ALuminium Industry Outlook...
Ever since the US President Donald Trump’s tariff imposition, the market witnessed its regional aluminium premium rise, exceeding USD 1 per pound. Consequently, for the first time, the US Midwest Premium for aluminium has surged to an all-time high at USD 2,182 per tonne. According to the Fastmarkets report, this development occurred on January 28. Explore- Most accurate data to drive business decisions with Global ALuminium Industry Outlook 2026 across the value chain In early June, the Trump administration imposed a 50 per cent tariff on aluminium imports, with the premium hitting a record above 64 cents. The US Midwest Premium, a surcharge over the London Metals Exchange (LME), has more than doubled and remained on a rising trend since then. On January 8, 2026, the premium exceeded USD...
The government of Odisha, in the presence of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, allotted Vedanta Aluminium, India’s largest producer of aluminium products , with land for over 1,447 acres, as a significant industrial push. This land has been provided to the firm for developing a 3 MTPA smelter project, which will be further accompanied by a 4,900 MW captive power plant in the Dhenkanal district. During the allotment letter handing process, not only the Chief Minister, but also Industries Minister Sampad Chandra Swain, Additional Chief Secretary (Industries) Hemant Sharma and other senior officials also showed their grace. Now, with this allotment, the firm gets one step closer to a better growth and expansion opportunity within the state. To know more about the global primary aluminium...
Under the Ministry of Mines and one of India’s leading alumina and aluminium producers and exporters, National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO), a Navratna Central Public Sector Enterprise, reported the quarterly net profit, which is deemed to be the highest in its history. Q3 FY26, ending with December, reflecting both operational and financial performance, gained a net profit of INR 16.01 billion (USD 175 million), reflecting a difference of 1.1 per cent, where in the same quarter last year, the numbers stood at INR 15.83 billion (USD 172 million). Total income NALCO's Q3 FY26 financial results, as per the review taken by the Board at its meeting, which took place in Bhubaneswar, recorded that the firm made a total income of INR 49.25 billion (USD 535 million). If this number is...
On January 30, which is the close of the week, the London Metal Exchange (LME) aluminium prices showed a significant dip in its contracts and futures prices. The declining trend has also been observed in the LME inventories as well. The LME cash bid dropped from USD 3,323 per tonne to USD 3,109 per tonne, with a difference of USD 214 per tonne ot 6.4 per cent. Similarly, the cash offer fell from USD 3,325 per tonne to USD 3,110 per tonne, reflecting the price moving down by USD 215 per tonne or 6.5 per cent. Also read: LME cash offer recovers with a 2.9% increase while inventories continue on with a slight dip A similar trend is seen in the 3-month forward contracts, where the bid shifted to USD 3,132 per tonne from USD 3,325.5 per tonne, with a difference of USD 193.5 per tonne or 6 per...
*** Rio Tinto and Aluminum Corporation of China Limited (Chalco) have agreed to jointly acquire a controlling stake in Companhia Brasileira de Alumínio (CBA), marking a major strategic move to expand their presence in low-carbon aluminium production. Under a definitive agreement with Votorantim, the partners will purchase 68.596 per cent of CBA through a newly formed joint venture, owned 33 per cent by Rio Tinto and 67 per cent by Chalco. The transaction is priced at BRL 10.50 per share (USD 2 per share), representing a 21.2 per cent premium to CBA’s recent 20-day average trading price of BRL 8.67 (USD 1.66). The deal values Votorantim’s holding at approximately USD 902.6 million, with Rio Tinto contributing USD 297.8 million on a pro-rata basis. For the global aluminium value-chain 2026...
As 2026 begins, the upstream aluminium value chain is expanding under rising pressure. New capacity is coming online, capital is returning to upstream assets, and prices are reacting more sharply to supply risk. Leadership reshuffles and cross-border partnerships point to a sector repositioning for tougher competition. Growth is no longer simple - the industry is adjusting as scale, resource control and market influence are being renegotiated across the chain. According to the International Aluminum Institute, primary aluminium production increased only 1.06 per cent in 2025 compared to 2024’s increase of 3.24 per cent. Annual growth was typically maintained at between 2.4 per cent and 2.9 per cent during the four years from 2020 through 2023; therefore, the current growth rate is...
After the market hours on Thursday, January 29, the Indian mining conglomerate owned by Anil Agarwal, Vedanta Limited, has shared the results of the December quarter, which are deemed to be higher in various parameters year-on-year. Net profit and other incomes In the last December quarter, the firm achieved a net profit worth INR 571.0 billion (USD 6.21 billion), which in the previous year reached INR 354.7 billion (USD 3.86 billion), reflecting a year-on-year increase of 60.1 per cent. In the same quarter, the other incomes also increased from INR 49.2 billion (USD 535 million) in the previous year to INR 33.9 billion (USD 368 million), showing a positive movement by 31.1 per cent. At the same time, the firm's revenue went up by 19 per cent, from the previous INR 4,589.9 billion (USD...
Aluminium prices on the London Metal Exchange showed mixed movements between January 28 and January 29, with cash prices diverging while forward contracts strengthened. On January 29, the LME aluminium cash bid price stood at USD 3323 per tonne, down 1.9 per cent from USD 3258 per tonne on January 28. The cash offer price rose 2.02 per cent to USD 3325 per tonne, compared with USD 3259 per tonne a day earlier. In the 3-month contract, the bid price climbed 1.98 per cent to USD 3325.5 per tonne on January 29 from USD 3261 per tonne on January 28. The 3-month offer price increased 1.96 per cent to USD 3326 per tonne, up from USD 3262 per tonne. To know more about the global primary aluminium industry 2026 outlook, book the report “ Global ALuminium Industry Outlook 2026 ." Further along the...
Global aluminium markets surged on Wednesday, pushing prices to their highest level in nearly four years as a sudden slide in the US dollar reignited risk appetite across base metals. The rally gathered pace after President Trump downplayed concerns over the greenback. Asked about the recent USD weakness, he told reporters it was “doing great,” reinforcing bearish sentiment on the currency and driving investors toward commodities. Explore- Most accurate data to drive business decisions with Global ALuminium Industry Outlook 2026 across the value chain On the London Metal Exchange, aluminium futures (LMAHDS03:COM) jumped 2.3 per cent to USD 3,387 per tonne, while copper rose 1.5 per cent and zinc gained 1.9 per cent, underscoring a broad-based metals upswing. Read More: RUSAL deploys...
Egypt Aluminium Company (Egyptalum) saw its profitability weaken in the first half of the 2025-26 financial year, even as turnover rose, according to unaudited figures released to the Egyptian Exchange on January 28. Explore- Most accurate data to drive business decisions with Global ALuminium Industry Outlook 2026 across the value chain The government-owned aluminium producer posted net profit after tax of EGP 5.54 billion (USD 118.26 million) for the six months till December 2025, down 25 per cent from EGP 7.355 billion (USD 157.06 million) reported in the same period a year earlier. Read More: LME cash offer recovers with a 2.9% increase while inventories continue on with a slight dip Revenue, however, moved in the opposite direction. Sales rose 12.56 per cent year on year to EGP...
From the previous close, the London Metal Exchange (LME) aluminium prices recovered with a steady increase. LME inventory side, however, followed the declining trend earlier, suggesting a global supply shortage of metal outflow. On January 28, the LME cash bid increased by 2.9 per cent from USD 3,166 per tonne to USD 3,258 per tonne. Following the upward trend, the cash offer price rose by 2.92 per cent, from USD 3,166.5 per tonne to USD 3,259 per tonne. Don’t miss out- Buyers are looking for your products on our B2B platform The 3-month bid and offer showed a similar hike, the bid rising with a 2.62 per cent increase from USD 3,177.5 per tonne on January 27 to USD 3,261 per tonne on January 28. The offer price inched slightly higher, by 2.64 per cent, from USD 3,178 per tonne to USD...
GDP is like a scorecard of the world economy - one number that says whether activity is up or down in a quarter or a year. It adds up everything produced, sold, and earned within a country. When it rises, factories run harder, construction picks up, and transport networks expand but when it slows, those same systems feel it first. That makes the metal a practical barometer of economic activity. Aluminium’s direct contribution to global GDP according to current price is roughly 1.2-1.3 per cent of an economy that’s projected to be around USD 114 trillion in 2025. Every dollar of aluminium output is estimated to support USD 3–5 of downstream activity in infrastructure, transport, energy networks and packaging. This is why governments view aluminium as strategic and trade-sensitive: it is...
On January 27, the Mumbai-based Hindalco Industries Ltd, a flagship of the Aditya Birla Group, announced expansion plans worth INR 210 billion (USD 2.3 billion) for its aluminium smelter capacity at the Aditya Aluminium complex in Sambalpur, Odisha. This marks one of the industry’s largest recent investments aimed at a scale-up of the upstream production, as well as to reinforce the circular economy with downstream manufacturing self-reliance in India. Explore- Most accurate data to drive business decisions with Global Aluminium Industry Outlook 2026 across the value chain The announcement was made alongside the commissioning of a Flat Rolled Products (FRP) and battery-grade aluminium foil facility for INR 45 billion (USD 536 million). It is part of a broader ongoing growth capital...
RUSAL, a global leader in aluminium production, is rolling out non-formed materials (NFM) developed using its own patented technology for electrolyser assembly. The new materials simplify installation, reduce costs, and allow the reuse of materials, compared to the usual bricks and slabs used in the industry. To know the aluminium market outlook for 2026 and beyond, get an access to our report: Global Aluminium Industry Outlook 2026 Traditionally, lining an electrolyser’s cathode shell is a lengthy and labour-intensive process involving multiple layers of bricks and slabs. To find a more efficient alternative, RUSAL’s Engineering Department developed proprietary technology to apply non-formed materials – a material derived from coal processing by-products – along with specialised...
From the previous close, the London Metal Exchange (LME) aluminium prices showed a slight dip. This declining trend followed in the LME inventory side, which is deemed to create a supply shortage globally, with a rise in price. On January 27, the LME cash bid declined from USD 3,190 per tonne to USD 3,166 per tonne, showing a difference of USD 24 per tonne or 0.8 per cent. Similarly, the cash offer inched down from USD 3,192 per tonne to USD 3,166.5 per tonne, reflecting a difference of USD 25.5 per tonne or 0.8 per cent. Don’t miss out- Buyers are looking for your products on our B2B platform The shrink followed in the 3-month bid and offer as both moved down by USD 17.5 per tonne or 0.5 per cent, where the bid reached USD 3,177.5 per tonne from USD 3,195 per tonne and the offer to USD...
On January 26, Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), a global leader in aluminium production and Century Aluminum Company, a producer of standard-grade, high-purity and value-added primary aluminium products, announced a joint development. This agreement focuses on building the first new primary aluminium production plant in the US since 1980. As per the agreement drafted, EGA will hold 60 per cent share of the joint venture and the remaining 40 per cent will be owned by Century Aluminum. Adhering to the agreement announced by EGA, the new plant will be built in Inola, Oklahoma. This plant shall hold the capacity of producing 750 thousand tonnes of aluminium per year, which is much larger than what has been previously envisioned and doubles the current US production rate. Besides production,...
Aluminium prices on the London Metal Exchange continued to rise on January 26, with both cash and 3-month forwards reporting gains in contrast to the inventories, which showed a decline. The LME aluminium cash bid price climbed to USD 3,190 on January 26 from USD 3,174.5 per tonne on January 23, increasing by 0.5 per cent. The cash offer price rose to USD 3,192 per tonne from USD 3,175 per tonne, also up by 0.54 per cent day-on-day. In the forward market, the LME aluminium 3-month bid price increased to USD 3,195 on January 26 from USD 3,176 per tonne on January 23, a gain of 0.6 per cent. The 3-month offer price rose to USD 3,195.5 from USD 3,177 per tonne, reflecting a similar 0.6 per cent increase. The December 27 aluminium contract saw a decline. The bid price slipped to USD 3,133 on...
