Canada and China have extended a bilateral trade arrangement that links Chinese market access for Canadian agricultural products with Canada's access for Chinese steel and aluminum. The decision provides greater certainty for exporters on both sides as Ottawa seeks to expand its trade relationships beyond the United States. The extension, announced on November 4, 2026, will keep the existing arrangement in place until the end of 2028. It comes amid renewed efforts by the two countries to strengthen economic ties and address outstanding trade issues. For the aluminum industry, the agreement offers a clearer timeline for market access, while its agricultural provisions provide Canadian producers with greater predictability in one of their key export markets. Canada-China trade agreement...
LME aluminium prices gained ground on November 4, with cash and futures contracts moving higher. The Asian Reference Price also edged up, while exchange inventories declined. Alumina Platts prices, however, moved slightly lower. The cash bid rose by USD 53.50 per tonne , or 1.74 per cent, to USD 3,134.50 per tonne from USD 3,081 per tonne. The cash offer increased 1.72 per cent to USD 3,135 per tonne from USD 3,082 per tonne. Three-month aluminium prices also advanced. The bid climbed 1.08 per cent to USD 3,073 per tonne on November 4 from USD 3,040 per tonne, while the offer gained 1.05 per cent to USD 3,074 per tonne. It was previously at USD 3,042 per tonne . Explore the production, demand and consumption forecasts of bauxite and alumina in our report: " Global Bauxite & Alumina Market...
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State energy giant Qatar Petroleum will offer 49 percent of its shares in Qatar Aluminium (Qatalum) for public offering. The move is “part of the State's plan to increase the participation of the private sector in economic activity and supporting an investment climate capable of attracting capital,” according to the compny. The necessary procedures and approvals are expected to be taken for listing on the Qatar Exchange during the last quarter of this year. Qatar Petroleum will also establish a holding company that will acquire Qatar Petroleum's stake in Qatalum. Qatalum, a jointly owned by the Norwegian company Hydro, produces about 645,000 tons per year of high quality aluminium. Qatalum uses the HAL275 system, an environmentally friendly, energy-efficient technology. Qatalum’s...
With a flourishing primary aluminium sector, Canada remains the top exporter of aluminium to the U.S. and the country is now rightfully negotiating on the 10% duty imposed on all aluminium imports. Canada is graced for a temporary period for further negotiation for a permanent exemption from the duties. Quebec, Canada’s aluminium hub with the presence of Alcoa, Rio Tinto Alcan and Alouette, three major aluminium players operating eight world-class primary smelters in the province and producing 2.9 million tonnes of primary aluminium, or 60% of total North American production. However, Canada is not only about the three primary players. Quebec in Canada is a province that house a number of innovative solution providers centering round the primary industry. We continue to focus on some of...
Most base metals rose as the US-China trade negotiations made some progress. LME aluminium increased 2.6 per cent and hit a two-week high, as seen by Shanghai Metals Market. Benchmark aluminium price on London Metal Exchange dropped to close at US$ 2316 per tonne on Friday, May 4, from the previous day's close at US$ 2349 per tonne. As on May 4, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stands at US$ 2315 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 2316 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$2306 per tonne, 3-months offer price is US$ 2307 per tonne; Dec 19 bid price stands at US$2255 per tonne, and Dec 19 offer price stands at US$ 2260 per tonne. The LME aluminium opening stock stood at 1310650 tonnes. Live Warrants totalled at 866775tonnes, and Cancelled Warrants were 443875 tonne....
Alcoa Corporation, the world’s sixth largest producer of aluminium with corporate headquarters in Pennsylvania, announced on Friday, May 4, 2018, that its Quebec smelter is ready to conduct mediated contract talks with the United Steelworkers union and has also notified provincial labour ministry about it. Alcoa, with an annual production capacity of 430,000 tonnes, has been operating at reduced output capacity by union co-workers since January 11, 2018, as the company had locked out its 1,030 unionised workers on contract expiry. Aluminium markets, on the other hand, were struggling for weeks when the United States slapped the Russian oligarch Oleg-Deripaska-owned UC Rusal with sanctions. However, the situation is now under control since when the US has extended the sanctions deadline to...
Mining conglomerate Vedanta Ltd. has announced its unaudited consolidated results for the fourth quarter of the financial year 2017-18, as well as the full financial year ended March 31, 2018. According to the results, the company has witnessed 22 per cent increase in year-on-year revenue closing at INR 92,923 crore and 13 per cent increase in quarter-on-quarter revenue to close at INR 27,630 crore. The increase was mainly on account of the ramp-up of capacities at Aluminium, record production from Zinc India and improved commodity prices partly offset by currency appreciation and lower sales at Iron ore. The firm has reported a 34 per cent rise in consolidated profit-after-tax (PAT) at INR 5,675 crore for the fourth quarter of FY2017-18, whereas, in the contemporary period last year, it...
LME aluminium surged high during yesterday’s trading and closed at US$2,349 on Thursday May 3, from US$2269 per tonne on Wednesday May 2. LME aluminium traded around the 20-day moving average overnight and we expect it to trade at US$2,260-2,320 per tonne today. As on May 3, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stands at US$ 2348 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 2349 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$2340 per tonne, 3-months offer price is US$ 2342 per tonne; Dec 19 bid price stands at US$2297 per tonne, and Dec 19 offer price stands at US$ 2302 per tonne. The LME aluminium opening stock stood at 1319300 tonnes. Live Warrants totalled at 871825 tonnes, and Cancelled Warrants were 447475 tonne. LME aluminium 3-months ABR price is hovering low at US$ 2325.36 tonne....
Century Aluminium Company, a global producer of primary aluminium, reported a net loss of $0.3 million for the first quarter of 2018. The adjusted net loss for the first quarter of was $3.5 million compared to adjusted net income of $24.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2017. Sales for Q1 2018 were $454.5 million compared with $433.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2017. Shipments of primary aluminium were 187,238 tonnes compared with 189,000 tonnes in the fourth quarter of 2017. Century reported adjusted EBITDA of $21.8 million in Q1 2018, from $60.2 million Q4 2017. The decrease was due to higher raw material costs, partially offset by higher LME and regional premiums. The company’s cash position at quarter end was $130.8 million and revolver availability was $160.9 million. Michael...
According to Shanghai Metal Market, China’s aluminium spot market witnessed a significant rise in trading, especially in Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Wuxi on Thursday, May 3, 2018. The reason was more and more traders wanted to stockpile aluminium due to tight market supply. Transactions in Guangdong, however, remained flat due to sluggish downstream demand. In Shanghai, while the transactions for cargoes with May invoices stood at RMB 14400 to RMB 14410 per tonne with discounts of RMB 50 to RMB 40 per tonne against the 1805 contract, in Wuxi and Hangzhou, the transactions were heard at RMB 14400 to RMB 14410 per tonne and RMB 14420 to RMB 14440 per tonne respectively. Most of the transactions were from traders since downstream demand remained low. Guangdong, on the other hand, had a quieter...
Although the average A00 aluminium ingot price witnessed a dip to RMB 14330 per tonne on 2nd of May, 2018 from RMB 14430 per tonne on 27th of April, it restored and secured a marginal growth to RMB 14390 per tonne just a day after i.e. on 3 rd of May, 2018. The price was up from May 2 but down from April 27, according to Shanghai Metal Market. The prices are expected to range between RMB 14370 per tonne and RMB 14410 per tonne, with spot discounts to settle at RMB 70 to RMB 30 per tonne. Amidst the oscillating phase on the face of Rusal’s sanctions and dicey availability of alumina for the production due to output cut at Hydro’s refinery, a little hike in A00 aluminium ingot price in China left a gust of positive sentiment in the market for the sellers, as well as for the producers. Major...
LME aluminium surged to a high of US$2,330 per tonne at one point overnight. Benchmark aluminium price on London Metal Exchange further increased to close at US$ 2269 per tonne on Wednesday May 2, from US$2258 per tonne on Tuesday, May 1. SMM sees limited upward momentum with no development in the Rusal sanctions. LME aluminium is expected to trade at US$2,280-2,330 per tonne today. As on May 2, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stands at US$ 2268 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 2269 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$2269 per tonne, 3-months offer price is US$ 2270 per tonne; Dec 19 bid price stands at US$2250 per tonne, and Dec 19 offer price stands at US$ 2255 per tonne. The LME aluminium opening stock stood at 1323425 tonnes. Live Warrants totalled at...
New Zealand Aluminium Smelters, controlled by the mining giant Rio Tinto, has declared to restart its fourth potline in next six months to strengthen production capacity at Tiwai Point smelter by about 9.2 per cent and create 32 new jobs in Scotland. The company takes this decision on securing a power contract for 50 megawatts per hour until December 2022 and estimates to boost its production by 85 tonnes a day, which amounts to 31,000 tonnes a year, up by 9.2 per cent from the existing production of 337,000 tonnes. NZAS chief executive Gretta Stephens said, "It is never good to have a cold potline at a smelter as it represents a capital investment that isn't contributing to our economy and our community." Adding to it, he also said, “NZAS is well-placed to offer metal that is...
The Kubal smelter, Rusal’s sole producer of primary aluminium in Sweden, with a production capacity of 134,000 tonnes was suspended from trading on the Nord Pool energy trading market a couple of weeks ago, in the wake of US sanctions on Russian companies. Within a week, the latter, Europe’s leading power market, is striving to find a solution to restore access to Kubal, as reported by Reuters on Friday, April 27, 2018. Nord Pool’s spokeswoman intimidated Reuters via e-mail on Friday that they are now cooperating with Kubikenborg Aluminium to find a solution for it. According to the spokeswoman, the suspension was due to a violation of Nord Pool’s rule book that operates independently of any US sanctions on Rusal. The detail of the violation, however, could not be provided due to the...
LME aluminium registered gain after a drop on Monday. Benchmark aluminium price on London Metal Exchange increased to close at US$2258 per tonne on Tuesday, May 1, up from the previous day’s close at US$ 2224 per tonne on Monday April 30. SMM expects LME aluminium to trade rangebound at US$2,235-2,270 per tonne today if there is no further development on the Rusal sanctions. As on May 1, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stands at US$ 2257.50 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 2258 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$2252 per tonne, 3-months offer price is US$ 2253 per tonne; Dec 19 bid price stands at US$2238 per tonne, and Dec 19 offer price stands at US$ 2243 per tonne. The LME aluminium opening stock stood at 1325925 tonnes. Live Warrants totalled at 925250...
After two days of holiday on the commemoration of Labour Day in China, Shanghai Metal Market unwrapped witnessing a drop in aluminium inventory on Wednesday, May 2, 2018, to close at 2.2 million tonnes. To say the truth, aluminium inventory had been witnessing a fall over the past one week, hovering at 2.231 million tonnes on 23rd of April, down from 2.248 million tonnes, and 2.21 million tonnes on April 26 respectively. Lowering of future price due to less investment on future contract by downstream consumers was the primary reason for the aluminium inventory plunge last time; while arriving of limited deliveries over the Labour Day holiday and rise in shipment ahead of the holiday bears the key responsibility for a further dip this time. Transactions in some of the major Chinese markets...
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C (Alba) presented its financial results for the First Quarter of 2018. The Company’s top-line and bottom-line performance for the first quarter of 2018 were driven primarily by 17% YoY increase in LME prices coupled with favourable management performance. Alba Total Sales stretched by 16% YoY to reach BD 221.3 million (US$ 588 million) versus BD 190.4 million (US$ 506 million) in Q1 2017. The Company posted a Net Income of BD 33.9 million (US$ 90 million) versus BD 25.6 million (US$ 68 million) in Q1 2017, an increase of 32% YoY. During the Annual General Meeting (AGM) which was held on Wednesday 07 March 2018, Alba approved a dividend of BD 36.8 million (US$ 98 million) and paid on 21st March 2018. Alba also streamlined its 2018 Priorities: Focus on Safety Selfie...
Most of the base metals remained rangebund before the pre-Labour Day weekend when the China market remains closed. Benchmark aluminium price on London Metal Exchange dropped to close at US$2224 per tonne on Monday, April 30, down from the last week’s close at US$ 2249 per tonne on Friday, April 27. U.S. President Donald Trump has postponed the imposition of steel and aluminium tariffs on Canada, the European Union and Mexico until June 1, and has reached agreements for permanent exemptions for Argentina, Australia and Brazil, the White House said on Monday. London aluminium slipped on Tuesday after the United States delayed the tariffs for some countries and announced permanent exemptions for others. The announcement has raised the prospect of better metal supply, partially releasing the...
According to Shanghai Metal Market on April 27, 2018, Weiqiao Group has reduced the purchasing prices of pre-baked anode. This is the fifth month in a row that the group has lowered the prices. For May, the prices are hovering at RMB 3390 per tonne in cash and RMB 3425 per tonne, which are RMB 200 per tonne lower than the previous month. This indicates that the pre-baked anode prices for May have dwindled even below the average costs. Even for lower-cost producers, these prices are considered to be around the break-even line as they offer other discounts. On the other hand, SMM updated on the same date that the average spot prices of pre-baked anode remained unchanged, all across the major Chinese markets. While in East and Central, the prices were standing at RMB 3625 per tonne and RMB...
Benchmark aluminium price on London Metal Exchange increased to close at US$2249 per tonne on Friday, April 27, up from the previous day’s close at US$ 2204 per tonne on Thursday April 26. LME Aluminium lost about 8.2 per cent over last week, having fallen sharply on Monday and Tuesday with the extension of the sanctions on Rusal. This has initiated the biggest weekly drop since August 2011, although it is still up 13.1 per cent in April due to Rusal issues, the best since September 2010. London aluminium prices started edging lower on Friday after a 1.3 per cent jump in the previous session, as US sanctions on Russian producer Rusal continued to haunt the trader community. Three-month aluminium on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.4 per cent at $2,265 a tonne by 0717 GMT, having risen...
