According to data released by the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China (GACC), China's total primary aluminium imports reached 185,500 tonnes in August 2026, down 14.65 per cent year-on-year but up 0.16 per cent month-on-month. Total imports for January-August amounted to 1.66 million tonnes, a decrease of 3.41 per cent year-on-year. The 14.65 per cent year-on-year decline in August imports, coupled with a nearly flat month-on-month performance, indicates that imports have not collapsed but rather maintained a steady inflow. In August, China's total primary aluminium exports stood at 21,900 tonnes, down 14.53 per cent year-on-year and 30.48 per cent month-on-month. Cumulative exports for January-August totalled 167,500 tonnes, up 9.26 per cent year-on-year....
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:...
Grow with
AL Circle
The US dollar weakened on Friday after the indication that the central bank may hold off on raising interest rates in 2019. LME base metals traded higher across the board on Friday and aluminium gained 0.3%. SHFE base metals performed similarly on Friday night and aluminium advanced 0.8%. LME aluminium closed Friday’s trading at US$1828.50 per tonne and then the contract gained 0.3% overnight and closed at US$1,855.5 per tonne. It is expected to trade at US$1,850-1,870 per tonne today. As on February 15, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stood at US$ 1828 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 1828.50 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 1862 per tonne, 3-months offer price is US$ 1863 per tonne; Dec 19 bid price stands at US$ 2008 per tonne, and Dec 19 offer price...
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba), soon to be the largest aluminium smelter in the world, announced that its flagship Line 6 Expansion Project is progressing as per schedule with the successful testing of 40 pots which are now fully operational. Alba Chairman Shaikh Daij Bin Salman Bin Daij Al Khalifa, said: “We are delighted to have started Potline 6 ahead of schedule on 13 December 2018 and to have successfully started the first 40 pots. Alba is targeting Line 6 full ramp-up within Q3 2019 which will further position us to take advantage of the growing demand in global aluminium consumption.” One of the most remarkable achievements for the company on this landmark Project is the Extreme Ownership on Safety by Alba employees and contractors. Alba’s Line 6 Smelter clocked more than 32...
The A00 aluminium ingot price has once again recorded a rise today, on February 18, by RMB 70 per tonne to stand at RMB 13,410 per tonne, found Shanghai Metals Market. This marks the fourth back-to-back growth and the highest in comparison with the previous three price rise. The aluminium ingot price, as of today, also stands the highest this month. The average prices are expected to range between RMB 13,390 per tonne and RMB 13,430 per tonne, with spot discounts to settle at RMB 60 per tonne to RMB 20 per tonne. As the ingot price growth has touched upon all the major markets in China, the markets in the east (Wuxi and Hangzhou) have witnessed price rise by RMB 65 per tonne and RMB 50 per tonne to settle at RMB 13,385 per tonne and RMB 13,390 per tonne. In the southern and northern...
After the lifting of sanctions on Rusal, the leading global aluminium producer has announced change in Board of Directors. Sergei Popov has resigned as an executive director with effect from 14 February 2019 due to the election to the legislature of one of Russian regions. The Company has announced through a press release that Evgeny Kuryanov has been appointed as an Executive Director of the Company and Maxim Poletaev, Randolph N. Reynolds, Kevin Parker, Christopher Burnham and Nick Jordan have been appointed as independent non-Executive Directors of the Company with effect from 14 February 2019. Randolph N. Reynolds has also been appointed as a member of the Corporate Governance & Nomination Committee, while Nick Jordan has also been appointed as a member of the Remuneration Committee...
According to Shanghai Metals Market, China’s total primary aluminium production came in at some 2.97 million tonnes last month. Production in January decreased by 0.5 per cent from January 2018, and dropped 0.7 per cent from December 2018. Domestic primary aluminium capacity under operation stood at an annualised 34.96 million tonnes by the end of January, down 270,000 tonnes per year from December. Despite new capacity in Inner Mongolia’s Chuangyuan and Guyang smelters, capacity cuts at Shaanxi Hengkang, Shandong Huayu, Shanxi Huasheng, and Shanxi Huaze continued to lower operating capacity in January 2019. Output of aluminium is expected to stand at 2.7 million tonnes in February, a decrease of 1.1 per cent from a year earlier. By the end of February, domestic primary aluminium capacity...
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba), on the go to become the world’s largest smelter, announced that the company has won 2019 Safety Leadership Award, 2019 Occupational Excellence Achievement Award and 2019 Significant Improvement Award by the National Safety Council (NSC) – USA. Alba ascertained that Safety is the number one driver of its success when it won three major international Safety Awards. The three NSC Awards recognise Alba in various areas of Safety -- Safety Leadership Award for achieving a ‘perfect record’ of Zero Fatalities in the last five consecutive years, the Significant Improvement Award for a significant reduction in Lost Time Injury in 2018 and the Occupational Excellence Achievement Award for reducing the number of all injuries in 2018. Alba’s Chief Executive Officer...
According to Shanghai Metals Market, the A00 aluminium ingot price has registered a rise today, on February 15, by RMB 20 per tonne to RMB 13,340 per tonne. This marks the third back-to-back growth in ingot price since February 13. The average prices are expected to range between RMB 13,320 per tonne and RMB 13,360 per tonne, with spot discounts to settle at RMB 20 per tonne. Although there is no trace of the price rise of input costs in the past few days, yet the aluminium ingot price is found growing. Also, the social inventories of primary aluminium are on the rise since the opening of the market after CNY. The average spot alumina price has been showing no change in price after a dip on February 13, from RMB 2,808 per tonne to RMB 2,793 per tonne. The bauxite price is also on...
The US dollar index fell on Thursday, weighed by a string of disappointing US data, with retail sales recording their biggest drop in nine years in December. LME base metals, except for lead, traded lower on Thursday. LME aluminium dropped 0.8% and SHFE aluminium sank 0.3% overnight. Benchmark aluminium price on London Metal Exchange was down at US$ 1829 per tonne on Thursday, February 14, from US$ 1840 per tonne on Wednesday. As the US dollar remains at highs, LME aluminium is expected to trade at US$1820-1870 per tonne today. As on February 14, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stood at US$ 1828.50 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 1829 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 1850 per tonne, 3-months offer price is US$ 1851 per tonne; Dec 19 bid price stands at US$...
According to Shanghai Metals Market, social inventories of primary aluminium across eight major consumption areas in China, including SHFE warrants, have extended growth by 55,000 tonnes to 1.617 million tonnes over the week ended on February 14. On Monday, February 11, the primary aluminium inventories were at 1.562 million tonnes. Therefore, the inventories today have grown by about 3.5 per cent, SMM data showed. Stocks in Wuxi and Hangzhou have grown from 578,000 tonnes to 608,000 tonnes, up 5 per cent while that in Shanghai have increased from 310,000 tonnes to 312,000 tonnes, up by about 1 per cent. In other markets like Nanhai and Guangdong, and Gongyi and Henan, the inventories are up 7 per cent and 2 per cent to stand at 294,000 tonnes and 145,000 tonnes respectively. The below...
Iran Aluminum Company, Hormozal Aluminum Company, and Almahdi Aluminum Company in Iran produced over 267,000 tonnes of aluminium during the first ten months of the Iranian calendar year (through January 20). This marked an increase of 5 per cent from the same period last year. Three major Iranian aluminium producers are expected to produce 385,000 tonnes of aluminium by the end of the current fiscal (March 20), up from last year’s total production of 337,000 tonnes Iran has aluminium nameplate capacity of 457,000 tonnes per annum. Aluminium production is expected to reach 1.5 million tonnes by 2025. The country is expected to start a new aluminium smelter this year. South Aluminium Company (Salco) will boost Iran’s aluminium production by 70 per cent and make it self-sufficient by taking...
According to Shanghai Metals Market, the A00 aluminium ingot has extended its price today, on February 14, to RMB 13,320 per tonne. On February 13, the price was at RMB 13,290 per tonne, which means today the aluminium ingot price has recorded rise by RMB 30 per tonne. The average prices are expected to range between RMB 13,300 per tonne and RMB 13,340 per tonne, with spot discounts to settle at RMB 30 per tonne to RMB 10 per tonne. The spot discount thus has registered a rise by RMB 20 per tonne, found SMM. In the east (Wuxi and Hangzhou), the aluminium ingot price has climbed up by RMB 20 per tonne to stand at RMB 13,320 per tonne. In the southern markets, the ingot price has also inched up by RMB 20 per tonne and clocked at RMB 13,350 per tonne; while in the north, the price has...
The US dollar rose slightly on Wednesday, reversing losses from the previous day, thanks to an increase in a measure of inflation excluding energy prices. LME base metals, except for lead, traded higher on Wednesday. LME aluminium expanded 0.5% and SHFE aluminium gained some 0.2% overnight. Benchmark aluminium price on London Metal Exchange stood at US$ 1840 per tonne on Wednesday, February 13, from US$ 1840.5 per tonne on Tuesday. LME aluminium is expected to trade at US$1840-1880 per tonne today. As on February 13, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stood at US$ 1839 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 1840 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 1863 per tonne, 3-months offer price is US$ 1865 per tonne; Dec 19 bid price stands at US$ 2005 per tonne, and Dec 19 offer...
ALUMINIUM INDIA 2019 has clearly evidenced the future market opportunities and rising demand for technologies in the aluminium industry on the Indian continent. In excess of 2,000 visitors travelled to the East Indian city of Bhubaneswar to visit the trade fair from 31 January to 2 February. The 87 exhibitors from India, China, North America and Europe covered the complete cross-section of industry needs, from raw materials and processing through to the finished products for the principal areas of applications on the Indian market: the sectors energy, transport, construction and packaging. For the first time, the trade fair was held at the state of Odisha – the heart of the Indian aluminium industry. Another first was the concurrent holding with the renowned INCAL Conference, which was...
Aldel, located in Delfzijl, Netherlands, announced the reopening of potline one, which was closed for six years. Acquired by York Capital in November 2017, the smelter is in the process of a significant capital investment programme to return the plant to its original production levels. Full annual capacity of the plant is over 150,000 tonnes of extrusion billets and rolling ingots. “This is part of the on-going capital investment in both equipment and people as the plant moves towards full production by the end of 2019.” The Aldel plant, established in 1966, serves as a critical supplier in the European aluminium industry and is the only remaining smelter in The Netherlands. The smelter plays a very important role in helping balance the Dutch energy grid which becomes more important as...
According to Shanghai Metals Market, large purchases among downstream consumers today, on February 13, have bolstered further improvements in spot aluminium transactions across east and south China markets. This could be possible as many downstream consumers have resumed work from the Chinese New Year holiday, SMM found. The front-month aluminium contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange came off from earlier highs this morning. Spot discounts in Shanghai were seen at RMB 30 per tonne to RMB 10 per tonne against the SHFE 1902 contract, down from a day ago. In Shanghai, Wuxi and Hangzhou, spot transactions were heard at RMB 13,290 per tonne to RMB 13,310 per tonne, RMB 20 per tonne higher than the previous morning. A buyer procured close to 9,000 tonnes of spot aluminium in the eastern...
The US dollar fell on Tuesday after eight days of gains, the longest in two years, as investors turned to riskier assets on optimism over the outcome of US-China trade talks. LME base metals traded lower on Tuesday. LME aluminium dropped 1.2% last night. LME aluminium fell further and closed at US$ 1840.50 per tonne yesterday from US$1848 per tonne on Monday. Despite the dip on Tuesday, the US dollar is still at highs and this would continue to weigh on aluminium prices. LME aluminium is expected to trade at US$1,800-1,870 per tonne today. As on February 12, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stood at US$ 1840 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 1840.50 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 1865 per tonne, 3-months offer price is US$ 1866 per tonne; Dec 19 bid price...
On Tuesday February 12, spot aluminium transactions across eastern and southern markets in China picked up from the previous day, according to Shanghai Metals Market. The slightly better spot transactions could be attributed to improved deals between traders. Overall spot aluminium trades remained poor as downstream purchases stayed at lows. The front-month aluminium contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange traded range bound in the morning. Spot discounts in Shanghai were heard at RMB 50 per tonne against the SHFE 1902 contract earlier in the morning, before it fell to RMB40-30 per tonne. Spot transactions in Shanghai, Wuxi and Hangzhou were at RMB 13,270 per tonne to RMB 13,290 per tonne, up from the previous morning. In Guangdong, spot transactions occurred at RMB 13,320 per tonne,...
The US dollar index rose above 97 on Monday as an economic slowdown in Europe, weak emerging markets and the strong US job market drove investors to the safe-haven currency. LME base metals traded lower on Monday. LME aluminium closed flat. LME aluminium contract closed at US$1848 per tonne on Monday, down 0.91 per cent from US$1865 per tonne on Friday, February 8. LME aluminium is expected to trade at US$1870-1900 per tonne today. As on February 11, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stood at US$ 1847 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 1848 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 1869 per tonne, 3-months offer price is US$ 1869.50per tonne; Dec 19 bid price stands at US$ 2003 per tonne, and Dec 19 offer price stands at US$ 2008 per tonne. The LME aluminium opening...
