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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According to a report on October 23, the global miner Rio Tinto Limited has flagged a possibility to close production at its New Zealand’s Aluminium Smelter (NZAS), citing weakness in the aluminium market and high energy costs. NZAS is a joint venture between Rio Tinto (79.36%) and Sumitomo Chemical Company Limited (20.64%), with almost 1000 employees at the present. The company said it would conduct a strategic review of the smelter to determine the operation’s ongoing viability and competitive position. It will even explore options and try to identify economically viable solutions to find a pathway to profitability and for that, it said it would hold discussions with the Government of New Zealand and energy providers. By 2020, the review is expected to be concluded. “We expect the short...
Africa’s primary aluminium production stood at 134,000 tonnes in September, a decrease of 3.6% from 139,000 tonnes in August and 2.19% tonnes from 137,000 tonnes in July. The output registered a decrease of 2.9% year-on-year, according to the latest data showed by the International Aluminium Institute (IAI) on Monday, October 21. Aluminium production in the first nine months of 2019 was down 1.12% year-on-year. Africa produced 1.233 million tonnes of aluminium in January-September, from 1.247 million tonnes in January-September 2018. Primary aluminium production in Africa stood at 1.668 million tonnes in 2018, IAI data showed. Global primary aluminium production stood 5.163 million tonnes in September, off 2.6% year-on-year. The primary aluminium output was down 3.12% month-on-month....
RUSAL has demonstrated its commitment towards sustainability by processing and selling over 50% of the waste generated by its smelters in the last 10 years. Rusal processed about 10% of red and nepheline mud at the alumina refineries proving it to be leader in alumina mud processing among the global aluminium companies. "Reducing the volume of waste, limiting waste generation, increasing processing and recycling are all key elements of the Company's strategy to boost its sustainability efforts and reduce its impact on the environment. For example, RUSAL’s Sayanogorsk industrial site already processes or sells over 90% of waste produced. The ongoing development and implementation of new technologies, which are now in the final stages of testing, as well as the modernization of our...
According to a recent report, the metal unit of Aditya Birla Group, Aditya Aluminium, has built a 24-MW solar power plant worth INR 151 crore at Lapanga in Sambalpur district. Spread across 144 acres of ash-filled land, the plant is expected to contribute to the State Government’s goal of generating 2,750 MW of renewable energy, including 2,200 MW solar power by 2022. The power to be produced from the installed plant will be utilised in aluminium smelting process. Smelters require a consistent load network and uninterrupted power supply. The load requirement of Aditya Aluminium is also as high as 658 MW. The green energy to be generated at the new plant will act as an incentive for the firm, said Aditya Aluminium head Kailash Pandey. But power fluctuations are very common in solar plants...
The US dollar recovered earlier losses afternoon as Brexit negotiations were once again thrown into disarray. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies, rose from a nearly three-month low, ending 0.13% higher at 97.33. LME base metals closed mixed while SHFE complex mostly dropped. LME aluminium slipped 0.69% and SHFE aluminium fell 0.4%. After a temporary gain on weak dollar over the day, LME aluminium went back to its downward curve overnight. Three-month LME aluminium relinquished earlier gains and came off from a high of US$1,741 per tonne to below all moving averages, closing at US1,724 per tonne. LME aluminium is likely to trade at US$1,710-1,750 per tonne today. As on October 21, Monday, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stood at US$ 1735 per...
Global primary aluminium production stood 5.163 million tonnes in September, off 2.6% year-on-year, according to the latest data showed by the International Aluminium Institute (IAI) on Monday, 21 October 2019. The primary aluminium output was down 3.12% month-on-month. Primary aluminium production amounted to 47.549 million tonnes in the first nine months of 2019, from 48.023 million tonnes in the first nine months of 2018. This records a slip of 0.99% year-on-year. In Asia ex-China, aluminium production totalled 363,000 tonnes in September 2019, down 0.27% from 364,000 tonnes in September 2018 and 2.94% from 374,000 tonnes in August 2019. Output in January-September stood at 3.302 million tonnes, from 3.296 million tonnes in January-September 2018. In the Middle East, primary aluminium...
According to the Industrial Development and Renovation Organization of Iran, also known as IDRO Group, Iran’s production capacity for primary aluminium is on the rise after the inauguration of a new smelter complex. Currently, the combined nominal capacity of Iran's four major aluminium producers Iran Aluminum Company (IRALCO) located in Arak (Markazi Province), Almahdi and Hormozal in Bandar Abbas (Hormozgan Province) and the newly-inaugurated Jajarm Aluminum Complex located in Jajarm County (North Khorasan Province), stands at 468,000 tonnes per year. Jajarm Aluminum Complex became operational in July 2019 and added 40,000 tonnes to the capacity of Iran's annual aluminium ingot production. According to the Minister of Industries, Mining and Trade Reza Rahmani, the plant was built with...
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba), on course to become the world’s largest aluminium smelter, was recognised as the Leading Corporate for Investor Relations in Bahrain at the recently held 11th Middle East Investor Relations Association (MEIRA) Awards’ Ceremony. The MEIRA Awards, in collaboration with Thomson Reuters Extel, recognises the efforts of regionally listed companies and Investor Relations (IR) professionals who play a critical role in advancing the IR landscape. Alba’s Acting Chief Executive Officer Ali Al Baqali said: “We are pleased to have been recognised again by the 2019 MEIRA Annual Conference and Awards -- which is a vote of confidence from Alba’s various stakeholders amidst changes to market dynamics. We take pride in our approach with the transparent disclosure and...
The US dollar headed for its worst week in almost four months. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies, fell for the third consecutive week and ended 0.4% lower at 97.2 last Friday. LME base metals closed mixed as aluminium gained 0.43%. The SHFE aluminium increased 0.18%. LME aluminium started the last week lower and continued flat in the first three days. It started gaining from Thursday and ended the week higher. Three-month LME aluminium hit a week high of US$1,743 per tonne as it rebounded from an intraday low of US$1,723 per tonne last Friday night, before it ended 0.43% higher at US$1,736 per tonne. A weaker US dollar index may keep LME aluminium within a range of US$1,730-1,750 per tonne today. As on October 18, Friday, LME aluminium cash...
According to Shanghai Metals Market, social inventories of primary aluminium across eight major consumption areas in China, including SHFE warrants, stood at 895,000 tonnes as of Monday, 21 October 2019, down 21,000 tonnes from Thursday October 17. Primary aluminium inventories continued to decline as outflows grew in most areas. The current status of primary aluminium inventories across China is given in the chart below: After a continuous rise for the past three days in a row, A00 aluminium ingot price on Monday dropped by RMB 40 per tonne from Thursday’s price of RMB 14000 per tonne. The price stood at RMB 13960 per tonne and expected to move within a range of RMB 13940-13980. Aluminium ingot price in Foshan decreased by RMB 40 per tonne to stand at RMB 13920 per tonne. Ingot prices in...
A00 aluminium ingot price started the week with a decline of RMB 170 per tonne on Monday, October 14. The price continued lower at RMB 13800 per tonne and RMB 13770 per tonne on October 14 and October 15. But the week ended higher at RMB14000 per tonne on Friday, October 18, up RMB 40 per tonne from Thursday, October 17. As updated by Shanghai Metals Market, social inventories of primary aluminium across eight consumption areas in China, including SHFE warrants, declined significantly this week as arrivals shrank sharply while outflows held stable. Primary aluminium stocks in China reduced by 61,000 tonnes from a week ago to 916,000 tonnes as of Thursday October 17. As far as raw material is concerned, the average spot price of alumina started the week higher at RMB 2643 per tonne on...
South32 Ltd reported a 1% quarter-on-quarter rise in aluminium production in the September quarter. Aluminium production increased from 245,000 tonnes to 248,000 tonnes. Hillside Aluminium saleable production increased by 1% in the September 2019 quarter as the smelter continued to test its maximum technical capacity, despite a modest impact to production from load-shedding and the completion of a major workforce restructure in the June 2019 quarter. Production stood at 181,000 tonnes. Sales from Hillside Aluminium decreased by 9% QoQ to 174,000 tonnes. Mozal Aluminium saleable production increased by 2% QoQ to 67,000 tonnes in the September 2019 quarter as the smelter continued to test its maximum technical capacity, despite a modest impact to production from load-shedding. Sales dropped...
NALCO may have to close one more unit after shutting down three units of its Captive Power Plant, each of 120 megawatt capacity due to shortage of coal supply. This is likely to impact its aluminium smelting operations seriously. Nalco is currently drawing around 190 MW of power from the state grid at a higher rate because of the shortage at CPP. “Short supply of coal has severely impacted aluminium production of NALCO and also the cost of power, as the power purchased from the grid is costly as compared to the power produced by NALCO at its CPP,” the state-run unit said in a statement. Nalco’s CPP at Angul and steam and power plant at Damanjodi are depended on Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd, a Coal India Ltd arm for coal supply. Nalco has already stopped 80 electrolytic pots in the smelter...
The US dollar fell for a third straight day to the lowest in nearly two months against a basket of other currencies on Thursday, as weak US economic data rekindled fears of an economic slowdown and the European Union and the UK striking a Brexit deal. LME base metals closed higher on Thursday. Aluminium nudged up 0.06%. SHFE aluminium rose 0.4%. Three-month LME aluminium rebounded to a high of US$1,733 per tonne on Thursday, before it eased to end marginally higher at US$1,728.5 per tonne. LME aluminium will struggle to break strong resistance in the short term, and is expected to trade between US$1,720-1,740 per tonne today. As on October 17, Thursday, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stood at US$ 1725 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 1726 per tonne; 3-months bid...
According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Friday October 18, production of primary aluminium in China stood at 1.6% lower than the same period last year. Production in September came in at 2.9 million tonnes, a decrease of 2.36% from August’s production volume of 2.97 million tonnes. For the first nine months of 2019, primary aluminium production increased by 1.1% from the same period a year earlier to stand at 26.37 million tonnes, slower than a 1.4% increase for the first eight months of 2019. Production of 10 nonferrous metals, including copper, aluminium, lead, zinc and nickel, stood at 4.97 million tonnes last month, an increase of 5.1% year on year, NBS data showed. Output of the 10 nonferrous metals in January-September totalled 43.47 million tonnes....
On the news of China’s primary aluminium output dip by 1.6 per cent from a year ago to 2.9 million tonnes in September, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the price of A00 aluminium ingot has recorded a further rise of RMB 40 per tonne to RMB 14,000 tonnes, as on Friday, October 18, found Shanghai Metals Market. This marks the third consecutive rise ranging between RMB 13,770 per tonne and RMB 14,000 per tonne. Significant decline in primary aluminium inventories by 61,000 tonnes to 916,000 tonnes over the week ended on Thursday, October 17, could also be attributed to the growth in A00 aluminium ingot price. The average prices of aluminium ingot today are expected to range between RMB 13,980 per tonne and RMB 14,020 per tonne, with a spot contract to be traded at a...
Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) announced that International Bauxite, Alumina & Aluminium Society (IBAAS) has joined as an Associations member. This brings the total number of ASI Members to 102. “The benefit of joining ASI is the opportunity for networking, access to research material and work on sustainability aspects of aluminium industry. We look forward to collaborating with ASI on joint events in India,” Dr. Ashok Nandi, President, IBAAS. IBAAS was set up and registered in India by professionals active in various fields of aluminium industry. IBAAS has successfully organized eight International events of Aluminium Industry in Asia and Africa starting from 2012 to 2019 period. Past conference and exhibition details can be accessed at the IBAAS website. The Aluminium...
Alcoa continued to project a global aluminium deficit ranging between 800 thousand and 1.2 million tonnes in comparison to 1.0 million and 1.4 million tonnes projected in Q2 2019. The company lowered its global aluminium demand growth projection for 2019 to a range of -0.6 percent to 0.4 percent from a previous quarter’s estimate between 1.25 percent and 2.25 percent. “The change is driven by weakening macroeconomic conditions, trade tensions between the US and China, and contracting manufacturing activity, especially in the global automotive sector,” Alcoa said on Wednesday, 16 October 2019. Alcoa projected a global surplus market for alumina in 2019, ranging between 1 million and 1.8 million tonnes, up from last quarter’s estimate of 500 thousand tonnes to 1.3 million tonnes, driven by...
