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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For outstanding financial and production achievements over the past four years, the CMD of National Aluminium Company Limited, Dr. Tapan Kumar Chand, has been honoured with the ‘Global Indian Business Leader’ award on June 17, 2019. On behalf of Dr. Chand, Nalco DGM (Corporate Communication) Asutosh Rath received the award in New Delhi. Based on Dalal Street Journal’s rating of Nalco as the fastest growing PSU in the last five years, the award ceremony organised by the Indian Achievers’ Forum acknowledged Dr. Chand for leading the company in growth path and achieving the global benchmark of the lowest-cost producer of bauxite and alumina in the world. Since July 2015 when Dr. Chand joined Nalco as CMD, the company had been consistently delivering across all parameters of production,...
Ahead of the budget, aluminium producers in India have reportedly urged the government to increase import duty on primary aluminium, aluminium scrap, and downstream products. Besides, they have also sought steps from the government to rationalise the costs of raw materials. Industry bodies such as the Aluminium Association of India (AAI) and FICCI have made the government aware of the fact that the rising aluminium imports, declining domestic market share, and rising production and logistic costs have taken a toll on the country's metal industry. Moreover, non-competitive energy costs and acute coal shortage are being found hitting the industry adversely, said Rahul Sharma, co-chairman of FICCI Committee on Mining and Minerals, in a press statement. He also pointed out that the lack of...
The US dollar index was little changed on Monday as investors awaited this week’s crucial US Federal Reserve meeting. LME base metals closed mixed on Monday and aluminium nudged up. SHFE base metals performed similarly and aluminium stayed flat. LME continued its downward trend on the first day of the week. LME cash contract closed lower at US$ 1719.5 per tonne. Three-month LME aluminium slid to a low of US$1,745 per tonne, the lowest since January 11, 2017, on Monday before it rebounded to close overnight at US$1,758.5 per tonne. It is expected to trade rangebound between US$1,740-1,800 per tonne today. As on June 17, Monday, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stood at US$ 1719 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 1719.50 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 1754 per...
According to Shanghai Metals Market, the A00 aluminium ingot price has extended its fall today, June 18, by RMB 80 per tonne to stand at RMB 13,850 per tonne. This is the fourth consecutive fall after a slight rise on June 12 from RMB 14,070 per tonne to RMB 14,080 per tonne. The average prices today are expected to range between RMB 13,830 per tonne and RMB 13,870 per tonne. Spot aluminium contract is likely to be traded at a premium of RMB 40 per tonne. Foshan has seen a major drop among all other cities in China, as the price there has declined by RMB 90 per tonne to stand at RMB 13,920 per tonne, followed by Tianjin and Gongyi, where the price has inched down by RMB 60 per tonne to RMB 13,880 per tonne and RMB 13,785 per tonne respectively. Hangzhou, Wuxi, Chongqing, and Shenyang have...
Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) reportedly announced yesterday, June 16 that it achieved cost savings of AED20.8 million through suggestion scheme in the first half of 2019. The EGA suggestion scheme first came into effect in May 1981 with the intention of involving the most valuable asset of an organisation – the employees. Getting their ideas and gaining their involvements are the two main vision of this scheme. Since January 2019, EGA employees have given over 14,000 ideas to reduce costs and improve processes at worksites. During the Holy Month of Ramadan, the company launched another campaign to accelerate the implementation of the employees' suggestions and award them. Around 5,812 suggestions were implemented during the Holy month. Abdulla Kalban, the Managing Director and CEO of...
Shanghai Metals Market data showed that social inventories of primary aluminium across eight consumption areas in China, including SHFE warrants, stood at 1.088 million tonnes as of Monday, 17 June 2019. Primary aluminium stocks dropped 30,000 tonnes from 1.118 million tonnes on Thursday June 13. Inventories in China extended their declines over the weekend. The chart below indicates the current status of primary aluminium inventories across all major China markets: Primary aluminium inventories in Wuxi, Jiangsu, and Shanghai dropped 10,000 tonnes and 4,000 tonnes from Thursday June 13 to stand at 382,000 tonnes and 213,000 tonnes on Monday, 17 June 2019. Inventories in Nanhai, Guangdong came in at 242,000 tonnes, a drop of 9,000 tonnes from Thursday June 13. Primary aluminium inventories...
Senior aluminium analyst at SMM, Wang Rui, said that aluminium prices in the short term are likely to moderate on weaker demands in a slack season but slower-than-expected in supply and shrinking inventories sustain on optimistic outlook on prices in the long run. At the Nonferrous and Ferrous Metals Summit jointly held by SMM and Chinese financial research firm Horizon Insights in Shanghai on Friday, June 14, Wang Rui expected China’s aluminium stocks to ease to 700,000 to 800,000 tonnes by the end of 2019. He also shared that the costs and balance of alumina will remain the point of focus in the market in 2019. However, the June-August period is likely to see a deficit of alumina by 430,000 tonnes in China, he estimated. Some new alumina capacity of around 4.4 million tonnes is likely...
The dollar index surged on Friday as encouraging US retail sales data for May eased fears of a slowing economy. With weak manufacturing and investment data from China, LME base metals closed lower on Friday, with the biggest loss of 1.6% in aluminium. SHFE base metals also traded lower and aluminium shed 0.5%. A stronger US dollar lowered three-month LME aluminium below all short-term moving averages to close at an intraday low of US$1,758 per tonne on Friday night. It lost all earlier gains to conclude in a weekly decline. LME aluminium is expected to trade between US$1,750-1,830 per tonne today. As on June 14, Friday, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stood at US$ 1737 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 1737.50 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 1770 per tonne,...
The year 2018 saw the global aluminium industry being impacted by various factors including constraints in supply of raw materials and imposition of various trade restrictions and sanctions by the US Government. Prices saw some never-before-seen highs and lows and a trade war between the U.S. and its allies created concern in the international market. Now, as the five months of the year 2019 are over, the industry has started consolidating. Most of these issues surrounding the aluminium industry are expected to be resolved and supply as well as price is stabilizing during the first half of the year. The start of 2019 has already witnessed the lifting of sanctions on Rusal by the US Government and trade negotiations between the U.S. and China are taking shape in a positive manner. The US...
A00 aluminium ingot price started the week lower after Dragon Boat Festival. Aluminium ingot recorded further down on June 10 from RMB 14060 per tonne to RMB14020 per tonne. The price inched higher on Tuesday and continued till Wednesday. A00 aluminium ingot price ended the week lower at RMB13970 per tonne on Friday, June 14, 2019. As of yesterday, the average price is expected to range at RMB13950-13990 per tonne. Premium showed no movement till Tuesday, June 11. Premium increased by RMB10 per tonne on Wednesday. Then it dropped RMB10 per tonne on Thursday and Friday. As of yesterday, spot aluminium price is likely to trade at a discount of RMB 10 per tonne to a premium of RMB 30 per tonne. Inventories of primary aluminium in China declined slower over the holiday-extended weekend....
The US dollar started the week higher on Monday, June 11 but, dipped on Tuesday. Then it continued moving up and down leading to a mixed performance by LME and SHFE base metals over the week. Finally the dollar index ended the week higher on Friday. LME aluminium started the week with US$ 1720.5 per tonne and gained further to reach US$ 1756 per tonne but on Friday, LME cash contract plunged to US$ 1737.5 per tonne on Friday. Three months aluminium also plunged after seeing some gains mid-week. The contract is not likely to fluctuate much in the coming week and expected to trade within a lower range. As on June 14, Friday, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stood at US$ 1737 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 1737.50 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 1770 per...
China’s production of aluminium increased 2.4 per cent in May compared with the same period last year. Aluminium production came in at 2.98 million tonnes last month, showed data by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Friday, June 14. Aluminium production in China rose 2.1 per cent from 2.92 million tonnes in April, NBS data showed. According to Reuters calculations, on a daily basis, output decreased from 97,200 in April, which had one day fewer. Output averaged around 96,129 tonnes last month. China produced 14.45 million tonnes of aluminium in the first five months of 2019. That was up 2.7 percent from the same period last year, the data showed. Output of ten nonferrous metals - including copper, aluminium, lead, zinc and nickel – increased 2.2 per cent YoY and stood at 4.74...
The US dollar rose on Thursday on Donald Trump’s slightly positive tone on the US-China trade war Wednesday despite the threat of increased tariffs. Growing expectations of an interest rate cut limited gains in the greenback. LME base metals closed mixed while aluminium edged down. SHFE base metals saw mixed performance and aluminium declined 0.3%. LME aluminium settled the day’s trading higher than the previous day at US$1756 per tonne but lost the gains overnight. With the rising US dollar the three-month LME aluminium lost earlier gains to close lower at US$1,786 per tonne on Thursday. As on June 13, Thursday, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stood at US$ 1755.50 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 1756 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 1787 per tonne,...
A00 aluminium ingot price again dropped to RMB 13970 per tonne on Friday, 14 June 2019. That was down RMB90 per tonne from yesterday. The average price is expected to range at RMB13950-13990 per tonne. Spot aluminium price is likely to be traded at a discount of RMB 10 per tonne to premium of RMB 30 per tonne. Aluminium ingot price in Foshan came in at RMB 14050 per tonne, down RMB11 0 per tonne. The average price is expected to range at RMB14030-14070 per tonne today. Ingot price in Wuxi and Hangzhou declined RMB 60 per tonne and RMB 70 per tonne to stand at RMB 13975 per tonne and RMB 14000 per tonne. Aluminium ingot price in Chongqing, Shenyang, Tianjin, Linyi, and Gongyi stood at RMB 13980 per tonne, RMB 14015 per tonne, RMB 14000 per tonne, RMB 14090 per tonne and RMB 13895 per...
As the first five months of 2019 has come to an end with a sense of reconciliation for the global aluminium industry after a year of trade wars, restrictive tariffs, sanctions and capacity cuts; the stakeholders of the industry are preparing for an active and profitable second half with a renewed zeal. At this juncture, AlCircle is preparing to launch an e-Magazine on the theme “ Aluminium LeaderSpeak 2019” . Purpose of this exclusive online magazine is to get industry leaders from the complete aluminium value chain on board to share with our readers how they think year 2019 would transpire for themselves as an organization as well as for the industry. Top industry leaders will be sharing their business strategies and outlook for 2019 and their perspectives on how the Aluminium Industry...
According to Reuters, Rusal plans to issue a Chinese yuan-denominated bond, called a Panda bond and a rouble bond in order to raise fund for a new smelter. The world’s largest aluminium producer outside China was barred from borrowing during the sanctioned period. Now that the sanctions are lifted after Deripaska gave up control of the firm, the company is back to raising funds. “We see that all the key banks are actively returning to us with proposals for different instruments. We are analysing them and will use these opportunities if necessary,” said Oleg Mukhamedshin, head of equity and strategic development at Rusal. Rusal last tapped the Chinese bond market in 2017. The company will issue the bond once it gets credit ratings from Chinese agencies. Rusal raised 15 billion roubles...
As updated by Shanghai Metals Market, social inventories of primary aluminium across eight consumption areas in China, including SHFE warrants, came in at 1.118 million tonnes as of Thursday June 13. Inventories registered a drop of 30,000 tonnes from 1.15 million on Thursday June 6. Primary aluminium stocks declined 64,000 tonnes in the previous week. Stocks in China continued to fall this week, at a slower rate, as consumption weakened. The chart below indicates the current status of primary aluminium inventories across all major China markets: Inventories of primary aluminium in Wuxi, Jiangsu and Shanghai dropped from 410,000 tonnes and 228,000 on Thursday June 6 to 392,000 tonnes and 217,000 tonnes on Thursday June 13. This was down 18,000 tonnes and 11,000 tonnes. Stocks in Nanhai,...
The US dollar index rose on Wednesday, even as government data showed moderate US inflation in May. Most LME base metals closed lower on Wednesday but aluminium advanced 0.5%. SHFE base metals performed similarly overnight and aluminium inched up. Improved market sentiment bolstered three-month LME aluminium on Wednesday closing 0.48% up at US$1,786.5 per tonne. LME cash contract closed slightly lower at US$ 1753.50 per tonne at the day’s closing. LME aluminium is expected to trade between US$1,750-1,820 per tonne today. As on June 12, Wednesday, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stood at US$ 1753 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 1753.50 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 1785 per tonne, 3-months offer price is US$ 1786 per tonne; Dec 20 bid price stands at US$...
