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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ALRO S.A., one of the largest vertically integrated aluminium producers, by capacity, in Europe, announced its consolidated financial results for the first nine months of 2019. The Group’s turnover stood at RON 2.16 billion in the first nine months of 2019, down 6% year-on-year. ALRO Group registered a net loss of RON 22.7 million in nine-month period, from a net profit of RON 223.5 million in the same period of 2018. Marian NASTASE, Chairman of ALRO’s Board of Directors said: “International politics such as the US tariffs on imports, the Chinese retaliation, the Brexit negotiations, all these left room for uncertainties in the industry and reflected into a prudent behaviour of the aluminium customers and this was reflected in the results reported for the first nine months of 2019 for all...
According to the data from the National Bureau of Statistics, China in October produced 2.88 million tonnes of aluminium, down 0.7 per cent from 2.90 million tonnes in September and 1.8 per cent from the same period last year, as smelter shutdowns continued to weigh on output. Although the month-on-month decline in China’s aluminium output reduced in October, yet the year-on-year fall increased, compared with that in September. The NBS data had shown that China's September aluminium output had dropped 2.36 per cent from 2.9 million tonnes in August and 1.6 per cent from September 2018. The daily average output was at 92,900 tonnes in October, the lowest since March. In September, it was at 96,700 tonnes, meaning 4 per cent down in October. Top producer China Hongqiao Group’s facilities...
The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has signed a long-term agreement with Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) to supply calcined petroleum coke produced by its new Carbon Black and Delayed Coker (CBDC) facility in Ruwais. The deal will allow EGA to source up to 40% of its calcined coke requirements locally, reducing its logistics costs and reliance on imports. EGA uses calcined petroleum coke in the aluminium smelting process. H.E. Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, the UAE Minister of State and ADNOC Group CEO said: “For many decades, ADNOC has been a catalyst for growth, development and diversification in the UAE. This agreement contributes to further increasing the local economic benefit generated from the UAE’s natural resources and deepens ties and integration between two of the UAE’s most...
The US dollar fell on Wednesday. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies, dipped 0.01% and ended at 98.32. SHFE base metals followed the LME complex lower overnight. SHFE aluminium lost 0.11% and LME aluminium shed 0.87%. Benchmark aluminium price on London Metal Exchange closed at US$1768 per tonne on Wednesday, November 14, down 0.14% from previous closing at US$ 1765.5 per tonne . Three-month LME aluminium declined during the European trading session, and dipped to a low of US$1762 per tonne. It ended lower at US$1765.5 per tonne. LME aluminium is likely to trade at US$1760-1800 per tonne today. As on November 13, Wednesday, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stood at US$ 1767 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 1768 per tonne;...
The social inventories of primary aluminium have once again recorded a week-on-week decline, as of Thursday, November 14, found Shanghai Metals Market, as stocks in Nanhai continued to fall sharply. SMM data shows the primary aluminium stocks across eight major consumption areas, including SHFE warrants, have decreased by 19,000 tonnes from a week ago to stand at 834,000 tonnes. On the last Thursday, November 7, the inventories were at 853,000 tonnes after declining by 17,000 tonnes over the week. This indicates that the fall in inventories has grown this week by 2,000 tonnes. The stocks in Nanhai have seen a drop of 16,000 tonnes on November 14 to stand at 263,000 tonnes and that in Gongyi and Chongqing have decreased by 5,000 tonnes to 53,000 tonnes and 21,000 tonnes. In Wuxi, however,...
Emirates Global Aluminium, the largest industrial company in the United Arab Emirates outside oil and gas, marks 40 years since the first tonne of aluminium was produced in the UAE. Since production began in November 1979 at EGA’s site in Jebel Ali– then known as Dubai Aluminium (DUBAL) - the aluminium sector has grown into one of the UAE’s largest industries accounting for 1.4 per cent of the economy and supporting 60,000 UAE jobs. In line with the vision of the UAE’s Founding Father the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan to diversify the UAE’s economy, DUBAL was founded in 1975 by the late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum. DUBAL expanded under the guidance of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance of the UAE. Emirates...
The US dollar rose on Tuesday as US President Donald Trump reiterated the United States is close to signing a trade deal with China but offered no new details. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies, gained 0.13% and ended at 98.34. LME base metals and the SHFE complex mostly fell. LME aluminium increased 0.17% and SHFE aluminium fell 0.43%. LME aluminium closed 2.19% lower at US$ 1765.5 per tonne on Tuesday. Three-month LME aluminium recovered slightly after a sharp drop Monday, ending at US$1781 per tonne. LME aluminium is likely to trade at US$1770-1790 per tonne today. As on November 12, Tuesday, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stood at US$ 1765 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 1765.50 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands...
A00 aluminium ingot price has extended its decline to RMB 13900 per tonne on Wednesday, 13 November 2019, from its previous price of RMB 13910 per tonne on 12 November. This marks a drop of RMB 10 per tonne or 0.07 per cent. The price is expected to range within RMB 13880-13920 per tonne. Spot aluminium price is likely to be traded at a discount of RMB 210-170 per tonne. Source: Shanghai Metals Market Shenyang has witnessed the highest drop in aluminium ingot price. The price stands at RMB 13925 per tonne on Wednesday, down by RMB 40 per tonne from Tuesday. The average price is likely to range at RMB 13920-13930 per tonne. In Hangzhou and Chongqing has declined by RMB 20 per tonne each to stand at RMB 13920 per tonne and RMB 13870 per tonne. Their average prices are expected to range...
The 208MW Tonstad wind farm project on the eastern side of Lake Sirdal, in Sirdal and Flekkefjord municipalities, in Southern Norway, is reportedly under construction. While the installation of the turbines has already started, fourteen are erected so far and six among them are electrified, which are now producing and delivering electricity to the grid as well. The 208MW Tonstad wind farm is comprised of 51 SWT-DD-142 onshore wind turbines from Siemens Gamesa, mounted on 129m-high tubular steel towers. Designed to operate between 50Hz and 60Hz frequencies in low-wind onshore locations, each turbine of the Tonstad wind farm will have a rated capacity to produce up to 4.1MW. The report states Hydro Energy, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Norsk Hydro, will offtake the entire electricity output...
According to Shanghai Metals Market, the production of primary aluminium in China came in at 2.995 million tonnes in October after declining year-on-year by 3.82 per cent. With this, the total output in the first ten months stood at 29.45 million tonnes, down 2.27 per cent from the same period last year. SMM believes the production cuts due to accidents in August-September affected China’s primary aluminium output and capacity in October. The domestic capacity in operation, however, rose to 35.39 million tonnes by the end of October, up 340,000 tonnes from the previous month. But the actual production it generated remained 119,000 tonnes lower year-on-year. The slower pace of capacity recovery and new capacity commissioning could be one of the reasons for the slowdown in primary aluminium...
Outotec develops and delivers industry benchmark technologies and life-cycle services for its customers in the mining, metal, energy, and chemical sector, helping them sustainably improve their profitability. AlCircle spoke to Dr. Alessio Scarsella – Director, Bauxite and Alumina Technology, and Antti Koulumies – Vice President, Aluminium Business Line, Outotec for its new E-magazine on " Aluminium Middle East - Focus 2020 ". Dr. Alessio Scarsella is of the opinion that access to cheap energy and petroleum coke has driven the aluminium business in the Gulf countries, while Antti Koulumies has pointed out that the Middle East countries are increasingly exploring the upstream aluminium market. To know more what they have shared about the Middle East aluminium market and its future...
In this article, Ben Smye, Head of Growth at materials platform Matmatch, outlines some of the challenges and opportunities for aluminium suppliers in the coming years. For many decades, steel was the material of choice in the world’s largest industries. But in recent years, increasing demand for lightweight steel alternatives has put aluminium in the spotlight. As a result, there are several opportunities for suppliers to make inroads into new markets. At Matmatch, we help connect engineers and product developers looking for materials with suppliers, which give us insight into developments in the whole industry. In this article, I’ll touch on some of the larger trends we have seen in the aluminium market and explain the increasing importance of digital as a conduit to reach new customers...
The US dollar was lower on Monday. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies, fell 0.16% and ended at 98.21. LME base metals and the SHFE complex, except for zinc, closed lower last night. LME aluminium dropped 1.63% and SHFE aluminium shed 0.21%. Benchmark aluminium price on London Metal Exchange closed at US$1805 per tonne on Monday, November 11, down 1.23% from previous closing at US$ 1827.5 per tonne. As on November 11, Monday, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stood at US$ 1804.50 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 1805per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 1804.50 per tonne, 3-months offer price is US$ 1805 per tonne; Dec 20 bid price stands at US$ 1875 per tonne, and Dec 20 offer price stands at US$ 1880 per tonne. The...
Despite a decline in social inventories of primary aluminium on Thursday, November 11, the A00 aluminium ingot price has shown no sign of rise but dropped by RMB 190 per tonne to stand at RMB 13,910 per tonne, as of November 12, found Shanghai Metals Market. With this second consecutive downfall, the A00 aluminium ingot price today is hovering lesser by RMB 60 per tonne from the corresponding period last month, learned SMM data. The average prices are expected to range between RMB 13,890 per tonne and RMB 13,930 per tonne, while the spot contract to be traded at a premium price of RMB 160-120 per tonne. Among the major Chinese markets, Gongyi has seen the highest decline in the ingot price by RMB 190 per tonne to stand at RMB 13,750 per tonne, as of November 12, followed by Foshan,...
Gulf Aluminium Council (GAC) is a coordinating body that represents, promotes and protects the interests of the aluminium industry within the Gulf. The council’s main objectives are to provide a forum to develop strategies for common issues and concerns facing the aluminium industry in the region, and to share best practices so as to improve the efficiency of the industry. GAC also work through committees consist of speacialist from the member organisation with the objective of sharing best practices, reduce cost, improve productivity and efficiency. AlCircle spoke to Mahmood Daylami, Secretary General, GAC on a number of topics about the Gulf aluminium sector, including its current production and market scenario, its technical brilliance and future prospects . Here is an excerpt from the...
The Middle East aluminium industry plays a crucial role in the global production of aluminium is what Nadine Bloxsome, editor of Aluminium International Today, believes. Aluminium International Today, popularly known as AIT, is a leading publication for the aluminium manufacturing industry that delivers global news and detailed technical articles to the readers on the latest developments and challenges in aluminium production and processing. So, let’s hear it from the editor of the publication about the current aluminium market in the Middle East how it is planning to contribute to the global metal industry. She has also talked about the Future Aluminium Forum 2020 to be held in Quebec as AIT is the official media partner of the event. What according to you is the significance of Middle...
MYTILINEOS S.A. Metallurgy Business Unit has become a Production & Transformation member of Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI). This brings the total number of ASI members to 104. ASI is a global, multi-stakeholder, non-profit standards setting and certification organisation that aims to recognise and foster the responsible production, sourcing and stewardship of aluminium. “Sustainable Development is a top priority for MYTILINEOS and it’s expressed through responsible production of bauxite, alumina and aluminium as well as an ongoing self-improvement and incessant learning process aimed at increasing our positive impact on the greater society. For us, joining the ASI represents a creative challenge and a solid commitment, fully aligned with the vision of the European Union, to move...
According to a recent report, the aluminium capacity in the first phase of production at South Aluminium Company (SALCO) is likely to reach 300,000 tonnes. SALCO is located in the city of Lemerd in the southern tip of the Fars province and near the Persian Gulf. The smelter, creating 1200 direct jobs, plans to produce 1 million tonnes of aluminium annually once reached full capacity, said the report. The required investment for the first phase of the project was more than $1 billion, which was financed by five Iranian banks and also contributed by China Non-ferrous Metal Industry's Foreign Engineering and Construction Co. (NFC). Besides, IMIDRO, Iran’s largest holding in mining and metals sector, and Ghadir Investment Company have funded the project. Iran has been lagging in the...
