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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Shanghai Metals Market anticipates that operating rates across prebaked anode producers may continue to decline in March as sluggish prices in the market will prevent some plants from recovering after the winter heating season. As of the middle of March, downstream consumption remained poor while primary aluminium plants continued to cut capacity in February. Cash flow issues and aluminium smelters’ demand for high-quality products are some of the other factors that can affect prebaked anode producers operations in March, found SMM. The research data of SMM showed that operating rates across China’s prebaked anode producers had averaged at 57.97 per cent in February, down 0.99 percentage point from January. A falling market and production cuts were some of the reasons behind lowered...
Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) reportedly announced in a press release that it entered into a volume commitment extension contract with the global shipping company A.P. Moller – Maersk, in a bid to transport aluminium to all around the world. Maersk is one of EGA’s most significant shipping partners and has supplied shipping services to the UAE aluminium giant since 1992. Currently, EGA exports aluminium to customers in more than 60 countries worldwide, through 20 different shipping lines, and makes more than 11,000 shipments each year using over 100,000 containers. EGA’s aluminium is the second largest made-in-the UAE export after oil and gas. In 2018, EGA produced 2.6 million tonnes of cast metal. Over 80 per cent of EGA’s production is value added products, one of the largest among...
Norwegian aluminium company Norsk Hydro ASA has appointed Hilde Merete Aasheim as new President and CEO of Hydro. Aasheim succeeds Svein Richard Brandtzæg, who has decided to step down after 10 years. Aasheim's new role is effective May 8, 2019. Dag Mejdell, chairperson of Hydro’s Board of Directors said: “I am pleased to announce that Hilde Merete Aasheim has accepted the job as President and CEO of Hydro. Based on her unique combination of broad industrial experience, commercial instinct and strong leadership skills, Aasheim is the perfect fit as Hydro’s new CEO.” “With more than 30 years of experience from Norwegian and global industry and an impressive track record of industry-leading improvement and change processes, Hilde has what it takes to further strengthen Hydro’s position as a...
The US dollar dropped and recorded the biggest weekly loss in more than three months, affected by poor US economic data. Base metals ended mixed as LME aluminium closed 0.32% lower. SHFE aluminium fell 0.37%. LME aluminium fluctuated with the SHFE 1905 contract and dropped to US$1,900 per tonne during the Asian trading session. A lower US dollar lifted LME aluminium to US$1,904 per tonne, and settled it at US$1,896 per tonne. With the K-line indicator testing support at the 20-day moving average below, LME aluminium is expected to trade at US$1,860-1,930 per tonne today. As on March 15, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stood at US$ 1867 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 1868 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 1890 per tonne, 3-months offer price is US$ 1892 per...
A00 aluminium ingot price has increased over the weekend by RMB10 per tonne to clock at RMB13810 per tonne as of Monday, 18 March 2019. The average price is expected to range between RMB13790 per tonne and RMB13830 per tonne, with spot premium to settle at RMB230 per tonne and RMB270 per tonne. In the East (Wuxi and Hangzhou), the aluminium ingot price has increased by RMB5 per tonne and RMB20 per tonne to stand at RMB13795 per tonne and RMB13810 per tonne. Their average price is expected to range between RMB13790-13800 per tonne and RMB13790-13800 per tonne. In the South, the price has risen by RMB 40 per tonne to hover at RMB 13790 per tonne. The average price is expected to range between RMB13770 per tonne and RMB13810 per tonne. In the Northeast, the price has registered the highest...
According to Shanghai Metals Market, social inventories of primary aluminium across eight major consumption areas in China, including SHFE warrants, rose 1,000 tonnes over the weekend ended on March 18 to come in at 1.755 million tonnes. New arrivals of stocks in Guangdong in the amount of 13,000 tonnes contributed to the gains in overall stocks over the weekend. However, compared to Thursday, March 14, the increase in primary aluminium inventories today was slower. On Thursday, the inventories had risen 5,000 tonnes from March 11, in contrast to the growth of 1,000 tonnes today. In Wuxi, Jiangsu and in Shanghai, the inventories fell over the weekend from 628,000 tonnes and 313,000 tonnes to 623,000 tonnes and 312,000 tonnes. In Hangzhou, Zhejiang and in Tianjin, the inventories plunged...
The oil-rich but crisis-ridden South American country of Venezuela suffered a massive blackout on March 7, affecting at least 18 of its 23 states. The power cut put the transport system in chaos and many facilities had to shut down in absence of power. The blackout started at 1:05 a.m. and lasted until 6:00 a.m. In those five hours, the last electrolytic cells still operating in the only two aluminium-processing companies in the country Venalum and Alcasa went off. The Venalum smelter was operating with 59 cells while Alcasa was operating with only 14. Both the companies were already at their minimum operational capacities, and they stopped entirely on Friday, March 8th. Alcasa was founded in 1957 and Venalum was founded in 1978. The huge energy requirement for these smelters was...
The US dollar weakened this week after progress in Brexit negotiations between the European Union and Britain and dipped to the lowest since March 4, at 96.37 on March 14, after new inflation data increased expectations that US interest rates will not be raised anytime soon. Base metals traded mixed over the week. Both LME and SHFE aluminium traded bullish over the week and registered a slight drop on Friday. LME aluminium started the week on an upward trend with US$ 1830 per tonne and touched its highest on March 14 at US$ 1873.5 per tonne. The contract jumped above all moving averages after Norway’s Norsk Hydro said that production at its Neuss plant in Germany would likely to fall due to an accident. A lower US dollar also pulled the prices. The contract ended the week at US$ 1868 per...
On Friday, March 15, Norsk Hydro reported weakened underlying earnings before interest and tax by 2.15 billion crowns ($251.61 million) in its 2018 financial report, amidst some of its positive developments like the upgrade of the Husnes Plant and the ramp-up of the Karmøy technology pilot to produce the world’s most climate and energy-efficient primary aluminium. The decline of Hydro’s 2018 underlying EBIT could be because of the higher raw material costs and reduced operations at Hydro’s Alunorte plant. In addition, different tariffs and sanctions that influenced global markets and trade flow over the past year also apparently took a toll. Alunorte, the world’s largest alumina refinery, has been running at half its capacity after Hydro admitted that it had to make unlicensed emissions...
ALUMINUM USA is the leading exhibition and technical conference for aluminum products, technologies and investments in the United States is taking place on September 12-13, 2019 at Nashville, TN USA. The mega event brings together the global aluminium industry every two years. ALUMINUM USA represents the entire value chain offering solutions for the aluminium industry and all applications fields. The event is attended by approximately 2,000 key decision makers from the industry. ALUMINUM USA, being organized by Reed Exhibition in collaboration with Aluminum Association has recently announced the names of the members of its Advisory Board that includes the top industry players and analysts. The recent addition to the Board was Anthony Tropeano, who retired as CEO of FATA SpA in January...
The US dollar snapped a four-session decline after the British pound stalled at lower levels ahead of a vote to extend Britain's March 29 deadline for exiting the European Union. Base metals, expect for LME tin, closed lower and aluminium edged down. SHFE aluminium lost 0.37%. A rebound in the US dollar weighed LME aluminium to the lowest overnight at US$1,893 per tonne, before it returned to around the five-, 10-, and 20- day moving averages. It finally ended the overnight trading at US$1,902 per tonne. The contract is likely to trade at US$1,850-1,930 per tonne today. As on March 14, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stood at US$ 1873 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 1873.50 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 1897 per tonne, 3-months offer price is US$ 1898...
As the primary aluminium inventories have gained over the week ended on March 14 across China, the A00 aluminium ingot price has recorded a drop today, on March 15, by RMB 30 per tonne to RMB 13,800 per tonne, found Shanghai Metals Market. The average prices are expected to range between RMB 13,780 per tonne and RMB 13,820 per tonne, with spot discount to settle at RMB 40 per tonne. The decline in aluminium ingot price has touched all the markets in China and thus the price in the east (Wuxi and Hangzhou) has recorded a drop by RMB 25 per tonne to clock at RMB 13,790 per tonne. In the south and north, on the other hand, the price dipped by RMB 70 per tonne and RMB 30 per tonne to be at RMB 13,750 per tonne and RMB 13,760 per tonne, respectively. Today, the alumina spot price has also...
As updated by Shanghai Metals Market, social inventories of primary aluminium across eight consumption areas in China, including SHFE warrants, came in at 1.75 million tonnes as of Thursday March 14. Stocks increased 5,000 tonnes from Thursday March 7. In Guangdong province, a buildup of stocks across social warehouses accounted for most of the gains in inventories. Last week, social inventories in the same areas rose 5,000 tonnes as of Thursday March 7. The chart below indicates the current status of the primary aluminium inventories across China: Compared with last Thursday, Inventories in Wuxi, Jiangsu dropped 11,000 tonnes to stand at 628,000 tonnes, while stocks in Nanhai, Guangdong increased 28,000 tonnes to stand at 402,000 tonnes. Stocks in Shanghai remain unchanged at 313,000...
The US dollar dipped to the lowest since March 4, at 96.37, after new inflation data increased expectations that US interest rates will not be raised anytime soon. Base metals ended mixed and LME aluminium jumped 1.38%. SHFE aluminium rose 0.7%. LME aluminium closed the day's trading higher than the day before at US$1873 per tonne. The contract then jumped above all moving averages and broke pressure from US$1,900 per tonne, after Norway’s Norsk Hydro said that production at its Neuss plant in Germany would likely to fall due to an accident. A lower US dollar also pulled the prices. LME aluminium ended at US$1,903.5 per tonne. It is likely to trade robustly at US$1,850-1,930 per tonne today. As on March 13, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stood at US$ 1872.50 per tonne, LME official...
According to the National Bureau of Statistics on March 14, China’s primary aluminium production between January and February came in at 5.69 million tonnes. This represents a 5 per cent year-on-year increase, but a plunge by 2 per cent on a daily basis from December’s record rate. The bureau typically does not provide individual output numbers for those two months due to distortion from the timing of Chinese New Year. Chinese aluminium smelters, however, keep running throughout the week-long holiday. Per the statistics reported by Reuters, China’s daily average output stood at around 96,400 tonnes between January and February, down from 98,420 tonnes in December. This decline in China’s daily average output shows the impact of persistently low Chinese aluminium prices on smelters. The...
Rio Tinto’s Chief Executive Jean-Sebastien Jacques said that Rio Tinto is in talks with Apple to move into the next phase of an agreement for a low-carbon aluminium smelting project. He said this during the inauguration of Rio’s new Amrun bauxite mine in northern Australia. The world’s top miner is looking at converting its aluminium business to adhere to a low-carbon economy. Rio and Alcoa announced a joint venture in 2018, supported by Apple, to commercialize a smelting process by 2024 that emits oxygen and replaces all direct greenhouse gas emissions from the traditional aluminium smelting. “At the end of the day, what we can see is the customers of our customers want to have full traceability on their products, and they want to make sure they have a carbon-friendly product,” Jacques...
Hydro announced a pipe connecting fume treatment centers fell on the roof of one of the electrolysis halls of the aluminium plant in Neuss leading to damages to the building and reduced production. “There was no immediate impact on the electrolysis production following the accident. However, to repair the damages to the roof and the pipe, Hydro is forced to temporarily curtail production at parts of the production line and restart a number of cells when the structure is repaired,” Hydro said. Hydro said early estimates indicate that the production impact will be between 10,000 and 20,000 tonnes, while financial impact is estimated to be limited. Neuss aluminium plant has an annual electrolysis production of around 160,000 tonnes. Hydro claims the facility is the largest plant of its kind...
The US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said on Tuesday, March 12, that the United States is working on a plan to remove tariffs from Mexican and Canadian aluminium and steel while striving to preserve the gains that domestic producers received so far. He particularly told the US Senate Finance Committee that "What I'm trying to do is a have a practical solution to a real problem ... get rid of tariffs on these two, let them maintain their historic access to the US market which I think will allow us to still maintain the benefit of the steel and aluminium program." Once, a plan to lift metal tariffs from Canada and Mexico was linked to the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement but that ultimately failed to turn out successfully. Many US lawmakers believe that the...
