
Primary aluminium imports: According to data from the General Administration of Customs, domestic primary aluminium imports stood at approximately 186,000 tonnes in August 2026, up 0.2 per cent month-on-month and down 14.6 per cent year-on-year. Cumulative domestic primary aluminium imports from January to August 2026 reached roughly 1.657 million tonnes, a year-on-year decline of 3.4 per cent. Primary aluminium exports: Customs data showed domestic primary aluminium exports were around 22,000 tonnes in August 2026, dropping 30.7 per cent month-on-month and 14.7 per cent year-on-year. Cumulative primary aluminium exports between January and August 2026 totalled approximately 168,000 tonnes, representing a year-on-year increase of about 9.3 per cent. Net imports of primary aluminium:...
The London Metal Exchange (LME) aluminium price graph continues to drop across the pricing and contract segments on the September 24 trading session, reporting declines over the September 23 close . The LME aluminium cash bid slumped from USD 3,239.5 per tonne to USD 3,227 per tonne, rising 0.39 per cent. The offer price moved from USD 3,240 per tonne to USD 3,228 per tonne, dropping by 0.37 per cent. Explore- Most comprehensive and forward-looking industry-focused report — Global Bauxite & Alumina Market Forecast to 2036: Supply–Demand, Trade Flows & Price Outlook The LME aluminium three-month bid contracted from USD 3,258 per tonne to USD 3,252 per tonne, decreasing by 0.18 per cent. The offer price plunged from USD 3,260 per tonne to USD 3,252.5 per tonne, representing a 0.23 per cent...
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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...

The London Metal Exchange (LME) launched seven new cash-settled futures contracts on Monday, March 11, including contracts on alumina and aluminium premium. The new contracts are launched to attract more business after profits fell last year. London Metal Exchange (LME) announced about the launch of the seven new contracts on January 23. The LME launched a contract for alumina, which has seen sharp price volatility in 2018. The alumina price twice spiked and tumbled, opening up a market for both consumers and producers to hedge the price. The exchange also launched two regional aluminium premium contracts for U.S. Midwest and Europe. The world’s oldest and largest metal market aims to have a stronger portfolio of products as the rival exchanges such as CME Group of USA is giving fierce...

The US dollar weakened after progress in Brexit negotiations between the European Union and Britain. Base metals rose across the board and LME aluminium grew over 1% and SHFE aluminium closed higher. LME aluminium closed the day’s trading at US$ 1851 per tonne yesterday. Then the contract slid and returned to the five-day moving average after a lower US dollar lifted it to a high of US$1,881.5 per tonne overnight. It closed at US$1,877.5 per tonne. We expect it to test pressure at the 40-day moving average today, with trading range at US$1,840-1,900 per tonne. As on March 12, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stood at US$ 1850 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 1851 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 1877 per tonne, 3-months offer price is US$ 1878 per tonne; Dec...

According to Shanghai Metals Market, the A00 aluminium ingot price continued to rise today to RMB 13,730 per tonne. Yesterday the price was at RMB 13,680 per tonne, which indicates that the price today grew by RMB 50 per tonne. The average prices are expected to range between RMB 13,710 per tonne and RMB 13,750 per tonne, with spot discounts to settle at RMB 40 per tonne. In the east (Wuxi and Hangzhou) and in the north, the A00 aluminium ingot price also recorded an increase by RMB 50 per tonne to RMB 13,720 per tonne and RMB 13,700 per tonne, respectively. In the south, on the other hand, the ingot price grew by RMB 60 per tonne to stand at RMB 13,710 per tonne. But the input costs showed no change today except the aluminium powder, which rose from RMB 17.20 per kg to RMB 17.30 per kg....

Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba) announced a major safety milestone as its Line 6 Smelter project achieved 30 million working-hours without Lost Time Injury (LTI) as of 31 December 2018. A ceremony was held on Sunday 10 March 2019, to mark the occasion. It was attended by Alba’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer Ali al Baqali, Chief Marketing Officer Khalid Latif, Chief Power Officer Amin Sultan, Director Line 6 Smelter Project and Engineering Shawqi Al Hashimi and Director Safety, Health and Environment Mohamed Khalil, Line 6 Smelter Project team along with other contractor teams. The Chairman of Alba's Board of Directors, Shaikh Daij Bin Salman Bin Daij Al Khalifa, said said: “Alba believes in ‘walking the talk’ on matters in relation to Safety, Health and Environment. This achievement...

The Canadian government will reportedly fund $100 million, including $26 million for Quebec, in a bid to support domestic small and medium-sized enterprise aluminium and steel manufacturers. The news came when Navdeep Bains, minister of innovation, science and economic development made the announcement at Nova Steel in Hamilton on Monday, March 11. The objective of this new initiative is to support small and medium-sized producers across the country, who had been impacted the most by the US metal tariffs. The government believes this funding will help their businesses to drive productivity, scale up, and expand into new market to create good middle-class jobs. Bains said in a statement: “In the face of unjust and illegal U.S. tariffs hurting businesses and workers on both sides of the...

The US dollar slipped into negative territory, following an anticipated retail sales report that drew little reaction from the greenback. Base metals closed mixed and aluminium fell 0.51%. SHFE aluminium climbed. LME aluminium closed lower on Monday at US$1830 per tonne. After that a weaker US dollar lifted it to a high of US$1,876 per tonne last night. However, the contract dipped to US$1,845 per tonne, the lowest since February 14 and finally closed lower on the day at US$1,855.5 per tonne, with open interests down 4,251 lots to 663,000 lots. With resistance at the 20-day moving average, LME aluminium is likely to trade at US$1,800-1,890 per tonne today. As on March 11, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stood at US$ 1829 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 1830 per...

According to Shanghai Metals Market, A00 aluminium ingot price rose from RMB13610 per tonne to RMB13680 per tonne as of Tuesday, 12 March 2019, representing an increase of RMB70 per tonne or 0.51 per cent. The price is expected to range between RMB13660 per tonne and RMB 13700 per tonne, with spot discounts to settle at RMB 40 per tonne. In the east (Wuxi and Hangzhou), the aluminium ingot price grew RMB 65 per tonne to RMB 13670 per tonne, each. Their prices are expected to range between RMB 13660 per tonne and RMB 13680 per tonne. In the south and north, the price increased RMB 50 per tonne and RMB 40 per tonne to hover at RMB 13650 per tonne, each. Their prices are expected to range between RMB13630 per tonne and RMB13670 per tonne and RMB13640 per tonne and RMB13660 per tonne....

Emirates Global Aluminium has announced its annual financial report of 2018, where it is found that the UAE’s biggest industrial company outside the oil and gas sector has earned a net income of AED 1.2 billion ($325 million), 64 per cent down from AED 3.3 billion ($900 million) in 2017. This havoc decline in EGA’s net income is attributable to the surging costs of raw materials, which is why the company wants to start its alumina refinery in Abu Dhabi and bauxite mine in Guinea. These two projects are expected to reduce the company’s expense towards securing raw materials from overseas and help in boosting its net profit, as a result. Adjusted EBITDA, which was at AED 6.6 billion ($1.8 billion) in 2017 also decreased by 33 per cent in 2018 to AED 4.4 billion ($1.2 billion), despite a...

According to Shanghai Metals Market, social inventories of primary aluminium across eight major consumption areas in China, including SHFE warrants, dropped 9,000 tonnes over the weekend and came in at 1.74 million tonnes, as on Monday, March 11. This marks the first decline after the Chinese New Year holiday as downstream consumers returned and became active in purchasing primary aluminium on the price drop. The chart below indicates the current status of primary aluminium across the major Chinese markets: As the above chart indicates, the primary aluminium inventory in Wuxi, Jiangsu plunged 9,000 tonnes from 639,000 tonnes, as on Thursday, to 630,000 tonnes today. In Shanghai, the inventory dipped 3,000 tonnes from 313,000 tonnes to 310,000 tonnes, while that in Gongyi, Henan dropped...

According to Shanghai Metals Market, the A00 aluminium ingot price has dropped over the weekend by RMB 40 per tonne to stand at RMB 13,610 per tonne. The average prices are expected to range between RMB 13,590 per tonne and RMB 13,630 per tonne, with spot discounts to settle at RMB 50 per tonne to RMB 10 per tonne. In the east (Wuxi and Hangzhou), the aluminium ingot price has plunged by RMB 40 per tonne and RMB 35 per tonne to RMB 13,605 per tonne, each. In the south and north, on the other hand, the price has shrunk by RMB 40 per tonne and RMB 30 per tonne to hover at RMB 13,600 per tonne and RMB 13,610 per tonne, respectively. As far as the input costs are concerned, the alumina spot price shows no change today from RMB 2,731 per tonne. In all the major markets in east and central...