Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) reviewed its production operations and development projects during a visit by the Deputy King, His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, who also welcomed the company’s recent acquisition of Aluminium Dunkerque, the largest aluminium smelter in the European Union. During the visit, His Royal Highness conveyed the greetings and appreciation of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to Alba’s national workforce. He reviewed the progress of operations across Alba’s production lines and the development projects currently being undertaken by the company. He also commended the company’s achievements, including the milestone of recording 50 million safe working hours. He also commended the efforts and dedication of Alba’s national workforce in maintaining...
LME aluminium prices softened on September 22, with the cash and three-month contracts declining from the previous trading session, while LME aluminium opening stocks also edged lower on September 23. On September 22, the LME aluminium cash bid price stood at USD 3,240 per tonne, down 0.66 per cent from USD 3,261.5 per tonne on September 21. The cash offer price was USD 3,242 per tonne , down 0.63 per cent from USD 3,262.5 per tonne. The LME aluminium 3-month bid price stood at USD 3,263.5 per tonne on September 22, compared with USD 3,272.5 per tonne on September 21, representing a decline of 0.28 per cent. The 3-month offer price fell 0.27 per cent to USD 3,264 per tonne from USD 3,273 per tonne. Explore the production, demand and consumption forecasts of bauxite and alumina in our...
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The US dollar declined throughout the week. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies, stood at 99.501 on Wednesday, April 29. Benchmark aluminium price on London Metal Exchange decreased from US$ 1472.5 per tonne on Monday, April 27, to US$ 1440 per tonne on Friday, May 1. LME aluminium cash (bid) price and LME official settlement price showed a downtrend too this week. On Monday, April 27, they stood at US$ 1472.50 per tonne, which on April 28, declined to US$ 1465 per tonne. On Wednesday, April 29, the price stood further down at US$ 1464 per tonne, and on Thursday, April 30, at US$ 1460.5 per tonne. Extending the downfall further on Friday, May 1, both LME aluminium cash (bid) price and LME official settlement price came in at US$ 1440 per...
North America’s primary aluminium production increased by 5.23 per cent year-on-year to 342,000 tonnes in March 2020. On a month on month basis, the output rose by 8.92 per cent from February’s production of 314,000 tonnes. In the first three months of 2020, the production stood 4.12 per cent higher than the same period last year. The output amounted to 986,000 tonnes, from 947,000 tonnes in the first three months of 2019, according to the latest data showed by the International Aluminium Institute (IAI). In 2019, the output stood at 3.809 million tonnes, an increase of 0.93 per cent from 3.774 million tonnes in 2018. Primary aluminium production in South America increased by 2.25 per cent year-on-year to 91,000 tonnes in March. On a month-on-month comparison, the output inched up by 1.11...
Century Aluminium Company, on Thursday, April 30, announced the first-quarter results of 2020, reporting a loss of 3 per cent in net sales from $435.5 million in Q4 2019 to $421.2 in Q1 2020. Shipments stood flat at 202,905 tonnes in Q1, compared to 202,870 tonnes in Q4 last year. Century reported a net loss of $2.7 million for the first quarter of 2020 and $1.0 million net income on an adjusted basis, compared to a net loss of $4.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2019 and $9.0 million net income on an adjusted basis. The first-quarter results were negatively impacted by $3.7 million of non-cash exceptional items, including a $12.1 million lower of cost or net realizable value inventory adjustment (net of tax), offset by $8.3 million of unrealized gains on forward derivative contracts....
Benchmark aluminium price on London Metal Exchange dropped by US$ 3.5 per tonne from US$ 1464 per tonne to US$ 1460.5 per tonne, as of Thursday, April 30. Both LME aluminium cash (bid) price and LME official settlement price declined from US$ 1464 per tonne on April 29 to US$ 1460.5 per tonne on April 30. 3-months bid price and 3-months offer price also decreased from US$ 1504 per tonne to US$ 1498 per tonne. Dec 21 bid price and Dec 21 offer price hovered at US$ 1624.5 per tonne compared to US$ 1629.50 per tonne on the previous day. The LME aluminium opening stock stood at 1346200 tonnes. Live Warrants totalled 1186625 tonnes, while Cancelled Warrants 159575 tonnes. LME aluminium 3-months Asian Reference Price is hovering at US$ 1507.51per tonne. SHFE Aluminium Price Trend Shanghai...
As updated by Shanghai Metals Market, social inventories of primary aluminium across eight consumption areas in China, including SHFE warrants, continued to trend lower for the fourth consecutive week on strong demand and fewer arrivals. Inventories stood at 1.204 million tonnes in the week ended April 30, down 155,000 tonnes from the previous week. The chart below shows the current status of the primary aluminium inventories across China in more details: Primary aluminium stocks in Wuxi, Shanghai, and Nanhai decreased by 53,000 tonnes, 9,000 tonnes and 40,000 tonnes from April 23 to stand at 524,000 tonnes, 158,000 tonnes and 246,000 tonnes on Thursday, 30 April 2020. Inventories in Hangzhou came in at 120,000 tonnes, a drop of 15,000 tonnes from last week. Stocks of primary aluminium in...
Aluminium Corp of China Ltd, known as Chalco, reported aluminium sales of 860,000 tonnes in the first quarter of 2020. That was down 9.5% from 950,000 tonnes a year earlier on lower demand due to coronavirus outbreak, according to a datasheet for analysts reviewed by Reuters. The output of aluminium stood at 950,000 tonnes, unchanged from last year as smelters kept rates high during the epidemic, lifting inventories. Alumina production came in at 3.57 million tonnes, an increase of 1.8%. Chalco remains the world’s second-biggest listed aluminium maker, ahead of Rusal. Rusal posted aluminium production of 940,000 tonnes for the first quarter. Chalco earlier this week announced that the company’s net profit declined year-on-year on lower sales due to the coronavirus outbreak. The company’s...
The US dollar declined on Wednesday. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies, dipped 0.02% and ended at 99.501. LME aluminium went flat and SHFE aluminium advanced 1%. Benchmark aluminium price on London Metal Exchange dropped 0.07% per cent to US$ 1464 per tonne on Wednesday from US$ 1465 per tonne on Tuesday. As of Wednesday, April 29, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stands at US$ 1464 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 1464 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 1504 per tonne, 3-months offer price is US$ 1504 per tonne; Dec 21 bid price stands at US$ 1629.50 per tonne, and Dec 21 offer price stands at US$ 1629.50 per tonne. The LME aluminium opening stock stood at 1346775 tonnes. Live Warrants totalled 1196625 tonnes,...
Norsk Hydro ASA has announced its first-quarter results of 2020, mentioning the growth of underlying EBIT from NOK 559 million during the same period last year to NOK 2,247 million. The successful ramp up of production at the Alunorte refinery, reduced costs, and positive currency effects are believed to have contributed positively to the first-quarter results. But these positive effects were partly offset by lower realised alumina and aluminium prices. Separately for bauxite and alumina, Hydro’s underlying EBIT in Q1 2020 came in at NOK 535 million, up from NOK 153 million, attributing to increased production following the lifting of production embargo last year and lower raw material costs. Underlying EBIT for primary aluminium improved from negative NOK 771 million in Q1 2019 to NOK...
Qatar Aluminium Manufacturing Company, a 50% joint venture partner in a successful smelter that produces premium high quality primary aluminium products in Qatar, announced results for the three months period ended 31 March 2020. Net profit came in at QR 10.7 million. “Financial performance of QAMCO during first quarter of 2020 has continued to be impacted by external macroeconomic factors beyond the Company’s control, which weighed on the Company’s financial performance since 2019,” the company said. Revenue stood at QR565 million, down by 14% year-on-year, as the pressure continued on the global aluminium prices and uncertainty building supply surplus on account of decreased global demand. EBITDA stood at QR 166 million for the three months. That was down by 11% year-on-year. Average...
Cherished Alcircle Readers Family, Greetings from AlCircle! We hope you all are staying safe and remaining healthy at this challenging time. The global COVID-19 pandemic is affecting all our families, businesses, communities, and our way of life. During this time, we wanted to reach out to all our readers to acquire their thoughts and insights on the global aluminium industry in regards to the impact of the COVID-19. While COVID-19 is certainly a new challenge for all of us, we remain fully dedicated towards gathering and sharing information of the industry by publishing on our website. As all the major trade shows and events have been cancelled or postponed for an indefinite time, we love to have your thoughts, so that over the coming months it might help everyone related to the industry...
The US Chamber of Commerce experts has warned US President Donald Trump at the odds of using his preceding outlook on the trade deals in the ongoing negotiations between Kenya and the US. According to a report on April 26, The US Chamber of Commerce stated that the United States should work to achieve a single, comprehensive agreement with Kenya that removes barriers to trade and investment, instead of pursuing a phased approach as it mostly does. The Chamber stated in comments submitted to the US Trade Representative: "To be effective, negotiators should work out a comprehensive deal that addresses all issues under negotiation rather than seeking agreement on a subset of issues or pursuing a phased approach.” The US government in recent times concluded partial or phased trade agreements...
The US dollar fell for the second day on Tuesday, April 28, as investors put pressure on safe-haven currencies as they eyed the Federal Reserve’s meeting and rebalanced portfolios ahead of the end of the month. Month-end rebalancing is negative for the greenback, with the US dollar likely to be sold against the euro, sterling, the Japanese yen and the Australian dollar, according to Mark McCormick, global head of FX strategy at TD Securities in Toronto. LME aluminium cash (bid) price as well as LME official settlement price declined on Tuesday, April 28, from US$ 1472.5 per tonne on April 27 to US$ 1465 per tonne. 3-months bid price and 3-months offer price also decreased from US$ 1509.5 per tonne to US$ 1503.5 per tonne. Dec 21 bid price and Dec 21 offer price hovered at US$ 1628 per...
Aluminium Corp of China Ltd, known as Chalco, announced that the company’s net profit declined year-on-year on lower sales due to the coronavirus outbreak. The company’s net income came in at 30.7 million yuan in the first quarter of 2020, a drop of 93.1 per cent from 444.9 million yuan in the first quarter of 2019. “Affected by the outbreak of COVID-19, the market price of the company’s leading products decreased significantly,” Chalco said in the filing. According to a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange, revenue in the first quarter decreased 8 per cent year-on-year. Revenues stood at 39.67 billion yuan in the mentioned period as demand declined due to the coronavirus and panicked investors sold off commodities across the board, Reuters reported. Shanghai aluminium prices decreased...
The Serbian aluminium rolling mill Impol Seval has made public that its net profit has dropped to Serbian Dinar 504.9 million ($4.7 million/4.3 million euro) in 2019 from Serbian Dinar 895.8 million dinars in the preceding year. The company's revenue went up 10.4% to Serbian Dinar13.8 billion, whereas its operating costs increased to Serbian Dinar13.3 billion from Serbian Dinar 11.8 million, Impol Seval said in a bourse filing. The Slovenian company Impol invested 7 million euro ($7.8 million) in Serbian blue-chip aluminium rolling mill Impol Seval and has invested about Euro 4 million in the aluminium plant in the first nine months of 2019. In October 2002, the Serbian government sold a 70% stake in Impol Seval to Slovenia's Impol for a total of $6.5 million. Back then, the Slovenian...
There is no end to research, inspection, and introspection around the currently much talked about virus SARS-CoV-2, or popularly known as COVID19. The more its impacts are being reported across the world, the more it is triggering investigation among medical sciences. Research says what worries the most is the virus’s high rate of contagion, as it can survive outside the human body, in the air, and on surfaces such as metal, glass, and plastics, if they are not properly disinfected. It has been evident that human-to-human transmissions have an incubation time of 2 to 10 days, spreading through air droplets. But when these droplets reach surfaces, such as walls, clothing, furniture, or other objects, the virus behaves differently depending on the type of surface it lands on. On plastic and...
India's aluminium producers have urged the government to reduce tariffs and support them, forecasting that the domestic consumption will fall as Chinese imports swirls amid COVID-19 outbreak. India’s aluminium consumption is surmounted to reduce by 1.5-2 million tonnes in FY21 as the epidemic has substantially diminished the demand from consuming industries. <iframe width="500" height="300" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6YnVwRDEdgs" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe> As per the Indian Aluminium Industry: “Earlier, the Indian aluminium industry was mulling for capacity expansion to meet the growing aluminium demand. But with Covid-19 outbreak, the market sentiment is quite low and there is a need...
The US dollar declined on Monday, April 27. LME base metals ended mixed Monday. LME aluminium fell 0.5% and SHEF aluminium rose 1.1%. Benchmark aluminium price on London Metal Exchange dropped 0.03 per cent to US$ 1472.5 per tonne on Monday, April 27, from US$ 1473 per tonne on Friday. As of Monday, April 27, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stands at US$ 1472.50 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 1472.50 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 1509.50 per tonne, 3-months offer price is US$ 1509.50 per tonne; Dec 21 bid price stands at US$ 1629.50 per tonne, and Dec 21 offer price stands at US$ 1629.50 per tonne. The LME aluminium opening stock stood at 1336775 tonnes. Live Warrants totalled 1186950 tonnes, and Cancelled Warrants were 149825 tonnes. LME aluminium...
Vedanta has increased the aluminium ingot price by nearly 1% for the third time in a row. With effect from April 25, the prices of some ingots are in the range of INR 131,500-144,500 per tonne. This marks an increase of INR1500 per tonne from INR 130,000-143,000 per tonne on April 21. With the latest hike, Vedanta is now selling billet at INR 139,500 per tonne, a hike of INR 1500 per tonne or 1.09% from INR 138,000 per tonne on April 21. The Indian aluminium producers generally link prices of its products to the three-month futures of aluminium on London Metal Exchange. The three-month futures of aluminium are down more than 18% so far in 2020 due to slower global demand following the coronavirus outbreak. Vedanta’s aluminium business typically accounts for one-third of the company’s...
