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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The Trump administration imposed punitive sanctions on Friday April 7, which includes seven Russian oligarchs, 12 companies they own or control, as well as 17 senior Russian government officials. The sanctions are an extension of US sanctions passed in response to Russia’s 2014 invasion of Crimea, and were called for under a law passed by Congress last year. The U.S. government included Russian magnate Oleg Deripaska and his aluminium company Rusal on its sanctions blacklist. This is expected to have a strong impact around the world because his business empire has a global footprint and counts major multinationals as partners. Acording to U.S. administration, Mr Deripaska and eight of his companies were placed under sanctions as they were “benefit[ing] from the Putin regime and play[ing]...
Century Aluminum, a global producer of primary aluminum has created a buzz with an announcement that it is going to invest US$116.5 million for the improvement of one of its smelters in Hawesville, Kentucky and offer jobs to 250 personnel. This announcement was made on Wednesday April 4, 2018 by Governor Matt Bevin, where he said that the company will upgrade its smelting technology and train new and existing employees to use the new equipment for producing aluminium required for aerospace, defense, and electrical industries, reported by The Messenger-Inquirer of Owensboro. On the advent of this news, many county leaders and business owners have started analysing its potential impact on the market. Hancock County Industrial Foundation Director Mike Baker said that this enhancement of...
The most dreaded downturn in aluminium that was worrying analysts during the peak period in 2017 seems to be approaching. Trump’s trade restrictions on import acted as a catalyst in the already volatile meal market. LME continues downward trend without any strong fundamental in the international market. After losing its position of US$2,000 per tonne the LME aluminium contract finally closed much lower at US$ 1969 per tonne on April 5. It is likely to extend its downward trend in the light of growing trade tension. There is no clear indication of further stability in price. According to Metal Bulletin analyst Andy Farida, "With no sign that global on-exchange stock levels are declining or that there will be a toned-down approach from the US or China on fresh tariffs, LME aluminium is...
LME continues downward trend as there is no strong fundamental in the international market. The inventories are high and the market is buzzing with trade restrictions and counter actions among countries. After losing its position of US$2,000 per tonne on yesterday’s trading after seven days of consecutive decline, the LME aluminium contract finally closed much lower at US$ 1972 per tonne on April 4. It is likely to extend its downward trend in the light of growing trade tension. There is no clear indication of further stability in price. According to Metal Bulletin analyst Andy Farida, "With no sign that global on-exchange stock levels are declining or that there will be a toned-down approach from the US or China on fresh tariffs, LME aluminium is likely to remain under downside...
After a successive decline of aluminium refined inventory over the last couple of weeks, SMM updated on April 4, 2018, including SHFE warrants that it hovered at 2.231 million tonnes. Although the inventory went down from 2.243 million tonnes seen in the last week, it was slightly up from 2.227 million tonnes recorded in the early week Monday April 2, 2017. This hike after a continual fall over the past weeks might be due to tight aluminium supply in the domestic market because of China’s 25 per cent tariffs on sourced aluminium scraps from the US, resulting in a lesser secondary aluminium production in the market and forbidding downstream consumers from stocking. The above chart demonstrates the overall transactions in some of the major China markets, where there has been a slight rise...
According to data from Ministry of Mines, aluminium exports from India have recorded a sharp rise of 34.02 per cent YoY during April-January, 2017-18. The sharp rise was caused by growing domestic production and sluggish domestic demand growth. Our data shows India exported and estimated 1.20 million tonnes of aluminium in CY 2017. The total aluminium export is expected to rise further in 2018 to 1.27 million tonnes. However, data from the Ministry confirms exports of aluminium rose from 0.97 million tonnes to 1.3 million tonnes during the period. It is to be noted that primary aluminium production from April-February in the FY 2017-18 expanded 5.8 per cent YoY from 1.58 million tonnes to 1.67 million tonnes. For the Calendar year 2017, aluminium production stood at 2.8 million tonnes....
On the first day of trading after Easter Holidays on April 3, the LME aluminium contract closed at US$ 2010 per tonne , recovering from a near eight-month low of US$1997 a tonne on Thursday, March 29, before the holidays. LME aluminium lost its position of US$2,000 per tonne on today’s trading after seven days of consecutive decline. It is likely to extend its downward trend in light of US China trade tension. SMM expects the contract to trade between $1,975-2,000 per tonne today. As on April 3, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stands at US$ 2008 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 2010 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 2026 per tonne, 3-months offer price is US$ 2027 per tonne; Dec 19 bid price stands at US$ 2082 per tonne, and Dec 19 offer price is US$ 2087...
Emirates Global Aluminium, the largest industrial company in the United Arab Emirates outside oil and gas, and Abu Dhabi Ports have opened a facility which will reduce trucking of EGA’s aluminium within Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (KIZAD) by over 290,000 kilometres per year, reducing costs and environmental emissions. The new container freight station will be used to load metal into containers for transfer onto ships for export. It has been built by Abu Dhabi Ports close to EGA’s Al Taweelah site to reduce the trucking distance for each consignment by approximately 17 kilometres. Last year EGA shipped some 600,000 tonnes of aluminium from Khalifa Port, requiring over 17,000 truck movements from EGA’s site to the quayside. Total emissions savings from shortening the journey to...
As updated by Shanghai Metal Market, pre-baked anode prices are experiencing a decline on 4th month in a row. As per the update, Weiqiao Group has negotiated with its suppliers to lower the purchasing price by RMB 300 per tonne for April and closed it at RMB 3,590 per tonne. This indicates that an oversupplied pre-baked anode market is lessening prices due to growing demand for raw materials from smelters and falling of refined aluminium inventory post winter heating season. Following Weiqiao's move, other smelters are getting involved in negotiation with their respective suppliers and lowering prices by some RMB 300 per tonne. Prices are expected to be cut by another RMB 200 per tonne in May and likely to fall below average costs based on current input cost. On the other hand, other raw...
After Easter holidays LME aluminium opened higher today. Shanghai Metals Market expects it to rise and test support at the five-day moving average today and trade at US$2,005-2,030 per tonne. On Thursday, March 29, London Metal Exchange aluminium hit a near eight-month low, closing the week just above $2,000 a tonne. SMM expects LME aluminium to hover around the US$2,000 per tonne level this week and trade at US$1,995-2,020 per tonne with limited upward room given US-China trade tension and higher inventories. SME and SHFE Aluminium Price Trend The benchmark aluminium price on Shanghai Metal Exchange increased from US$ 2187 per tonne on April 2 to US$ 2227 per tonne on April 3, while LME was closed and trading in China market started picking up. SHFE aluminium regained lost ground and...
The London Metal Exchange is closed on Friday and Monday for the Easter holiday. On Thursday, London Metal Exchange aluminium hit a near eight-month low, closing just above $2,000 a tonne. SMM expects LME aluminium to hover around the US$2,000 per tonne level this week and trade at US$1,995-2,020 per tonne with limited upward room given US-China trade tension and higher inventories. SME and SHFE Aluminium Price Trend The SHFE 1805 aluminium contract touched a high of RMB 13,955 per tonne following the strong performance of the ferrous complex on Friday night. The SHFE 1805 contract opened at RMB 13,700 per tonne in the morning and plunged to a low of RMB 13,630 per tonne before it rebounded and closed at RMB 13,770 per tonne. SMM expects it to trade at RMB 13,800-13,950 per tonne with...
China’s refined aluminium inventory has been exhibiting a drop for past two weeks owing to more and more consumption of downstream products in the market. According to the Shanghai Metal Market data, China’s aluminium inventory including SHFE warrants hovered at 2.23 million tonnes on Monday April 2, 2018, down from 2.24 million tonnes on Thursday March 29 and 2.29 million tonnes on Monday March 19. The inventory has dropped for two weeks in a row, with the transactions of 900,000 tonnes of aluminium in Wuxi and Jiangsu, 444,000 tonnes in Shanghai, 421,000 tonnes in Nanhai and Guangong, 195,000 tonnes in Gongyi and Henan. However, deliverable Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) aluminium stocks recorded a price rise of about 1 million tonnes, while the metal declined by 10.7 per cent in the...
After a sharp hike in A00 Aluminium Ingot prices in China from RMB 13660 per tonne to RMB 13740 per tonne yesterday, it again witnessed a slight decline today March 30, 2018. According to Shanghai Meta Market, the average prices have reduced to RMB 13620 per tonne. The prices are expected to range within RMB 13600 to 13640 per tonne and spot discounts are expected to settle at RMB 100 to RMB 60 per tonne. However, despite the dip in prices, Shanghai Metal Market is optimistic about the future. It anticipates that aluminium prices will witness gain, as China plans to regulate captive power plants at aluminium producers with some support from higher power costs. In order to snip thermal power capacity, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has already issued The Regulation...
The month of March is ending with bearish sentiment for LME aluminium as the light metal contract dipped sharply to US$1,996 per tonne overnight, a record low since August 2017. The contract closed at US$1997 per tonne yesterday March 29, down from US$2009 per tonne on Tuesday March 28. As the inventory of LME aluminium ingots grew by 24,675 tonnes and the global market is buzzing with trade tensions, the market is lacking strong fundamentals that can support the prices. As on March 29, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stands at US$ 1996.50 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 1997 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 2013.50per tonne, 3-months offer price is US$ 2014 per tonne; Dec 19 bid price stands at US$ 2073 per tonne, and Dec 19 offer price is US$ 2078 per...
Not many days ago, India urged the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to exempt it from the recently-enacted US aluminium and steel tariffs. While already by now, the country has directly approached the United States for the exemption, with a supportive reasoning that its aluminium and steel exports could no way pose a security threat to the US, reported by three government officials. Last week, the US president Donald Trump relieved Argentina, Australia, Brazil, South Korea, Canada, Mexico and the European Union from its heavy duties on imported metals and said that until May 1, 2018, the other countries seeking for an exemption should correspond with Washington. Therefore, India’s Trade Ministry has written to the US government, asking for the tariffs impunity. According to the report by...
The Canadian government announced new measures to prevent transshipment and diversion of metal in Canada on March 26 2018. President Trump announced his final decision to impose a 10% duty on all aluminium imports and exempted Canada for a temporary period for further negotiation for a permanent exemption. The country however fears a 10% duty on all aluminium and steel import may divert surplus metal from other countries towards Canada as they have not imposed any tax. So, the government has initiated measures so that no metal can enter the U.S. via Canada. "This announcement demonstrates Canada's leadership and commitment to the integrated North American aluminium supply chain, which benefits both Canada and the United States. It takes all available means and resources to protect the...
China’s refined aluminium inventory witnessed a further drop on Thursday March 29, 2018, as was expected by the analysts that refined aluminium inventory in China would start reducing between March and April this year after a rise in downstream consumption in the domestic market. According to the Shanghai Metal Market data, China’s aluminium inventory including SHFE warrants dropped to 2.24 million tonnes, down from 2.26 million tonnes on Monday March 26 and 2.28 million tonnes on Thursday March 22. According to SMM, since trading became active in the physical market in east China but relatively less in the Guangdong market on Wednesday March 28, transactions in Shanghai, Wuxi and Hangzhou started hovering at RMB 13,650 to 13,670 per tonne with spot discounts of RMB 70 to 60 per tonne...
After registering a temporary gain on March 28, LME Aluminium contract dropped from US$2035 per tonne on Tuesday March 27 as US dollar index rose to 90 and finally closed at US$2009 per tonne on Tuesday March 28. Shanghai Metals Market expects the contract to trade at US$2,020-2,043 per tonne today. As on March 27, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stands at US$ 2008 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 2009 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 2027 per tonne, 3-months offer price is US$ 2029 per tonne; Dec 19 bid price stands at US$ 2087 per tonne, and Dec 19 offer price is US$ 2092 per tonne. The LME aluminium opening stock has dropped to 1261625 tonnes. Live Warrants totalled at 996500 tonnes, and Cancelled Warrants were 265125 tonne. LME aluminium 3-months ABR...
