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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The US dollar rose to a two-week high of 99.06 against a basket of currencies on Wednesday after the launch of a formal impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump, while the political uncertainty added to worries about economies strained by the Sino-US trade row. LME aluminium dropped and SHFE aluminium fell 0.2%. The load-up of short positions knocked three-month LME aluminium below moving averages to a three-week low of US$1,750 per tonne on Wednesday night, before the contract closed 0.57% lower at US$1,752.5 per tonne. Poor demand overseas and a stronger US dollar will keep LME aluminium weak in the short run. The contract is expected to hover between US$1,750-1,800 per tonne today. As on September 25, Wednesday, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stood at US$ 1735 per tonne, LME...
Extending the decline by RMB 90 per tonne on Thursday, September 26, the A00 aluminium ingot price has come in at RMB 14,190 per tonne, found Shanghai Metals Market. This marks the second decline in a row after three consecutive rises until Tuesday, September 24. The average prices are expected to range between RMB 14,170 per tonne and RMB 14,210 per tonne, with spot contract to be traded at a premium price of RMB 20-60 per tonne. Since the drop in ingot price has touched upon all the major Chinese cities today, the price in Shenyang, Wuxi, Hangzhou, and Chongqing has climbed down by RMB 110 per tonne and RMB 100 per tonne to stand at RMB 14,170 per tonne, RMB 14,180 per tonne, and RMB 14,210 per tonne, respectively. In Linyi and Tianjin also, the price has come in at RMB 14,210 per tonne...
According to a statement issued by the Chairman of Alba’s Board of Directors, Shaikh Daij Bin Salman Bin Daij Al Khalifa during Q3 Board meeting on Wednesday 25 September 2019, Alba’s Line 6 expansion is nearing completion and will soon start production. With the completion of the expansion Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C (Alba) would become the world’s largest aluminium smelter based on capacity. The chairman also highlighted the safety performance of the Alba smelter. “I congratulate all Alba, employees and contractors, as we have made history by achieving an outstanding Safety milestone of more than 11 million working-hours without Lost Time Injury (LTI). This Safety score endorses our overarching objective of ‘Think Safety First and Always’,” he added. The meeting also approved the 2020...
RUSAL, a leading global aluminium producer has announced its plan to enter into a new five-year USD 750 million Sustainability Linked Pre-Export Finance (PXF) facility. It is for the first time such a syndicated facility is arranged by international commercial banks in Russia. The proceeds of the facility will be used to partly refinance the principal outstanding under the existing up to USD 2 billion pre-export finance facility that was drawn in May 2017. “This sustainability linked Pre-Export Finance facility is further proof that the Company is at the forefront of the projects that are aimed at cutting down the world’s carbon footprint. We are glad to see the appreciation of the Company’s comprehensive sustainability initiatives from the banking community. For us this transaction is...
The US dollar weakened on Tuesday as Democratic lawmakers called for an impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump. The dollar index was down 0.3% to 98.33. LME base metals traded lower on Tuesday. LME Aluminium dropped 1.3% and SHFE aluminium lost 0.2%. Three-month LME aluminium weakened on Tuesday for a third day in a row and dropped 1.29% to US$1,762.5 per tonne. It is expected to trade between US$1,750-1,830 per tonne today. As on September 24, Tuesday, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stood at US$ 1750.50 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 1751.50 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 1771 per tonne, 3-months offer price is US$ 1772 per tonne; Dec 20 bid price stands at US$ 1850 per tonne, and Dec 20 offer price stands at US$ 1855 per tonne. The LME...
South America’s primary aluminium production stood at 95,000 tonnes in August, unchanged from August 2018. But production increased 2.15% from 93,000 tonnes in July 2019, data showed by the International Aluminium Institute (IAI) on Friday, September 20 In the first eight months of 2019, primary aluminium production in South America dropped 13.48% compared with the same period last year. Total production declined from 801,000 tonnes to 693,000 tonnes in January-August. South America’s full-year primary aluminium production for 2018 stood at 1.164 million tonnes, IAI data showed. Global primary aluminium production stood at 42.464 million tonnes in the first eight months of 2019, from 42.722 million tonnes in the first eight months of 2018. This records a slip of 0.6% year-on-year....
The US dollar strengthened on Monday, as investors were attracted to its relatively high yield and the strength of the US economy. LME base metals closed mixed on Monday. LME aluminium stayed flat and SHFE aluminium gained 0.3%. LME aluminium closed 0.57% lower at US$ 1756 per tonne on Monday, 23 September 2019.Three-month LME aluminium dropped below the 20- and 40-day moving averages to a two-week low of US$1,777 per tonne on Monday, before it recovered from those losses to close flat at US$1,785.5 per tonne. It is expected to trade rangebound between US$1,770-1,830 per tonne today. As on September 23, Monday, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stood at US$ 1755 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 1756 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 1777.50 per tonne, 3-months...
Back on the continued decline in social inventories of primary aluminium, the price of A00 aluminium ingot has extended its rise today, September 24, by RMB 10 per tonne to stand at RMB 14,320 per tonne, found Shanghai Metals Market. This marks the third consecutive growth in the aluminium ingot price after a decline on September 19 from RMB 14,340 per tonne to RMB 14,270 per tonne. The average prices today are expected to range between RMB 14,300 per tonne and RMB 14,340 per tonne, with spot contract to be traded at a premium price of RMB 10-50 per tonne. However, since the A00 aluminium ingot price rise has not touched upon all the major Chinese cities today, only Tianjin, Foshan, Wuxi, and Hangzhou have witnessed the growth. While Tianjin has seen the highest rise of RMB 30 per tonne...
Rio Tinto has announced that all aluminium from Canadian operations is now independently certified and responsibly produced. The company’s Aluminium Stewardship Initiative Chain of Custody certification has been extended to include the BC Works smelter and Kemano Power Operations in Kitimat, British Columbia. Rio Tinto Aluminium vice president sales and marketing and ASI Board member Tolga Egrilmezer said, “This certification continues Rio Tinto’s leadership on responsible production. It increases the availability of ASI certified aluminium in a range of markets, giving customers the ability to offer end consumers products made with aluminium that meets the highest sustainability standards.” ASI certification means aluminium purchased from Rio Tinto’s Canadian operations has been produced...
The Aluminum Association hosted leaders from the fellow aluminium associations around the world in a meeting in Nashville, TN on the concluding day of the ALUMINUM USA trade show. The group discussed opportunities to highlight the report from earlier this year by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), “Measuring Distortions in International Markets: The Aluminium Value Chain”. The global industry leaders also discussed recent changes in global trade flow patterns for aluminium and aluminium products. Leaders from Europe, Canada, Russia, South Africa, Austria, Brazil, Australia, U.S., Japan and Norway all participated in the discussion. ALUMINUM USA is a biennial industry trade event covering the entire value chain from upstream (mining, smelting) via midstream...
According to Shanghai Metals Market, primary aluminium inventories continued to decline over the weekend, as deliveries exceeded arrivals. Stocks of primary aluminium across eight consumption areas in China, including SHFE warrants, stood at 957,000 tonnes as of Monday September 23, down 9,000 tonnes from 966,000 tonnes as of Thursday September 19. The chart below indicates the current status of primary aluminium inventories across all major China markets: Primary aluminium stocks in Wuxi, Jiangsu and Shanghai dropped 8,000 tonnes and 2,000 tonnes from Thursday September 19 to 289,000 tonnes and 184,000 tonnes as of Monday, September 23. Inventories in Nanhai, Guangdong stood at 263,000 tonnes, down 4,000 tonnes from Thursday’s total of 267,000 tonnes. In some areas like Gongyi, Henan,...
The US dollar rose against a basket of currencies on Friday, prompted by hopes of progress in US-China trade talks and that the Federal Reserve would not lower rates aggressively. LME base metals closed mixed in Friday. LME aluminium fell 0.5% and SHFE aluminium inched up 0.2%. LME aluminium ended the week higher on Friday’s closing but lost gains during Friday night after dollar’s gain. Three-month LME aluminium shed 0.53% to end at an intraday low of US$1,785.5 per tonne on Friday. It is expected to trade at US$1,780-1,830 per tonne today. As on September 20, Friday, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stood at US$ 1765.50 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 1766 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 1790 per tonne, 3-months offer price is US$ 1792 per tonne; Dec 20...
Data from the Shanxi branch of National Bureau of Statistics showed on Monday, September 23, that the aluminium production in the province came in at 530,000 tonnes during January-August, down 19 per cent year on year. Output in August stood at 70,000 tonnes, down 25 per cent from the same period last year, amid tight environmental controls. Shanxi, as a key aluminium production base, aims to produce 1.1 million tonnes in 2019. The production during January-August could meet 48 per cent of the target, found the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Slow domestic output and tight aluminium ingot supply as a result has thus bolstered the Chinese aluminium prices, with the Shanghai Futures Exchange’s most active November 2019 aluminium futures contract closing at RMB 14,225 per...
A00 aluminium ingot price started the week higher at RMB 14310 per tonne on Monday, 23 September 2019. That was up by RMB 30 per tonne or 0.21 per cent from its previous price of RMB 14280 per tonne on Friday. The price is expected to move within a range of RMB 14290-14330 per tonne. Wuxi witnessed the highest increase in aluminium ingot price. The price stood at RMB 14320 per tonne, up by RMB 40 per tonne from its previous price. The average price is likely to range at RMB 14310-14330 per tonne. Aluminium price in Foshan was up RMB 30 per tonne to RMB 14350 per tonne. The average price is expected to range within 14330- 14370 per tonne. In Hangzhou and Chongqing, aluminium ingot price climbed by RMB 25 per tonne and RMB 30 per tonne to stand at RMB 14330 per tonne and RMB 14340 per...
Global primary aluminium production in August 2019 stood 1.46% lower compared with the same period of 2018. Aluminium production registered 5.407 million tonnes last month, from 5.487 million tonnes in August 2018, according to the latest data showed by the International Aluminium Institute (IAI) on Friday, September 20. The output was almost flat in comparison with July’s figure. Primary aluminium production stood at 42.464 million tonnes in the first eight months of 2019, from 42.722 million tonnes in the first eight months of 2018. This records a slip of 0.6% year-on-year. In Asia ex-China, aluminium production totalled 374,000 tonnes in August 2019, representing a drop of 0.8% per cent from 377,000 tonnes in August 2018. But the output increased by 0.54% month-on-month. Primary...
The US dollar rebounded against a basket of currencies on the first day of the week and then fell on Tuesday ahead of an expected US interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve. Though it registered a gain mid-week, the greenback ended the week lower. LME base metals started the week slightly higher but dropped on Tuesday, on growing concerns about demand in China after the release of bleak economic data and strong dollar. The prices did not see any drastic movement rest of the week and continued on a steady upward curve. LME aluminium started the week with US$ 1770.5 per tonne and after a drop to USD1746.5 per tonne it continued higher and closed the week at US$ 1766 per tonne on Friday September 20. Three-month LME aluminium also rebounded to a three-day high and ended the week at US$...
The price of A00 aluminium ingot in China witnessed fluctuations over the week. The week started with a decline of RMB 150 per tonne from Friday, September 12. The price continued lower at RMB 14400 per tonne and RMB 14330 per tonne on Monday, September 16 and Tuesday, September 17. But the week ended higher at RMB14280 per tonne on Friday, September 20, up RMB 10 per tonne from Thursday, September 19. As updated by Shanghai Metals Market, social inventories of primary aluminium across eight consumption areas in China, including SHFE warrants, increased over the weekend to 978,000 tonnes as of Monday September 16, up by 6,000 tonnes from Thursday September 12. But primary aluminium inventories fell this week for a fourth straight week, as some regions saw more outflows. Inventories...
Digitalization and automation are not new to any industry. It started with the adoption and proliferation of digital computers and digital record keeping in the 70s and became prevalent in late 1990s and 2000s. This led to computerization of all processes and implementation of digital activities in various organizations and industries, which is called the Third Industrial Revolution. Now the world is moving towards Industry 4.0 or the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The term "industry 4.0" or the "fourth industrial revolution is coined to describe the increasing digitalization in an industrial environment. It covers current systems and technologies for automation, artificial intelligence and data exchange. It loosely refers to the concept of factories in which machines are augmented with...
