1. Macro perspective The US-Iran conflict entered its second week. After the escort coalition intervened, traffic through the Strait of Hormuz partially recovered, but war risk insurance rates remained elevated. Brent crude pulled back from a high of USD 101 to consolidate around USD 95, with energy cost support weakening from earlier levels but not yet fading. The US Fed delivered a 25bp rate hike at its September FOMC meeting, and the dot plot indicated one more hike may still occur this year. Chair Warsh struck a hawkish tone in his post-meeting remarks, and the US dollar index held at a 13-month high. Next week, attention turns to China's official PMI on September 30, as well as US PCE and non-farm payrolls data during the National Day holiday—with China's market closed for seven days...
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....
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Emirates Global Aluminium has welcomed the start-up of Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba) new Potline 6, which has been built utilising EGA’s UAE-developed technology. EGA’s latest technology is amongst the most efficient in the global aluminium industry. Abdulla Kalban, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of EGA, said: “I congratulate Alba on the start-up of Potline 6, and thank them again for selecting EGA technology as their partner of choice on this strategic expansion. Licensing EGA’s home-grown industrial technology in such a major project internationally is an important milestone in the development of a knowledge-based economy in line with ‘UAE Vision 2021’.” EGA said in its press release that it has developed its own aluminium smelting technology in the UAE for more than 25...
Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu said the commerce ministry is in favour of increasing import duties on primary aluminium and aluminium scrap with a view to support local producers, PTI reports. “That is a proposal to protect our domestic industry. The proposal is under examination and we support the proposal,” Prabhu told PTI. The aluminium industry has demanded a hike in import duties on primary aluminium and aluminium scrap from 7.5 per cent and 2.5 per cent to 10 per cent. It has demanded a hike in import duty because of the incessant growth in inward shipments of these materials. Besides, the industry has also urged the government to consider imposing minimum import price and some kind of quota on the imports for the user industry. Total production of aluminium in India...
Guangxi Qiangqiang Carbon, manufacturer and distributer of pre-baked anodes and graphitized carbon products, held an expansion ceremony to expand the annual output of 200,000 tonnes of prebaked anode projects on Sunday December 23. The prebaked anode project will supply raw materials for new aluminium capacity in Guangxi province, announced at the commissioning ceremony. With an investment of 650 million yuan, the project at full production will bring annual industrial output to RMB650 million. Guangxi Qiangqiang Carbon produces aluminium electrolytic pre-baked anodes and graphitized cathodes. The company also manufactures aluminium electrolytic steel claws and casts.
The US dollar fell against the safe-haven yen and Swiss franc on Tuesday as investors cut their exposure to riskier assets amid the partial US government shutdown and signs of confrontation between the White House and the Federal Reserve. LME aluminium contract closed Monday’s trading at US$ 1898.5 per tonne. Aluminium saw the biggest losses of some 1.3% on Monday night. Trading was closed on Tuesday due to Christmas holiday. As on December 24, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stood at US$ 1898 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 1898.50 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 1898 per tonne, 3-months offer price is US$ 1899 per tonne; Dec 19 bid price stands at US$ 1965 per tonne, and Dec 19 offer price stands at US$ 1970 per tonne. The LME aluminium opening stock...
The A00 aluminium ingot price continues to rise post-Christmas day, December 26, from RMB 13,630 per tonne to RMB 13,710 per tonne, marking a growth by RMB 80 per tonne, Shanghai Metals Market found. The ingot price has been rising since December 21 and today it marks the fourth consecutive hike. So far, today’s price is the highest this month. The average prices today are expected to range between RMB 13,690 per tonne and RMB 13,730 per tonne, with spot discounts to settle at RMB 110 per tonne to RMB 70 per tonne. In the east, Wuxi, the ingot price climbed RMB 60 per tonne to stand at RMB 13,685 per tonne while in Hangzhou, the price increased RMB 40 per tonne to clock at RMB 13,690 per tonne. In the south and north, the prices grew by RMB 80 per tonne and RMB 25 per tonne and stood at...
The primary aluminium spot market in China seems to be merry for the sellers on the auspicious occasion of Merry Christmas. The A00 aluminium ingot price has climbed RMB 10 per tonne on December 25, to clock at RMB 13,630 per tonne, Shanghai Metals Market found. This marks the third consecutive rise since December 21. The first rise was from RMB 13,510 per tonne to RMB 13,560 per tonne and then to RMB 13,620 per tonne and RMB 13,630 per tonne. The average prices today are expected to range between RMB 13,610 per tonne and RMB 13,650 per tonne, with spot discounts to settle at RMB 90 per tonne to RMB 50 per tonne. In the east, Wuxi, the price has recorded a jump by RMB 20 per tonne to RMB 13,625 per tonne while in Hangzhou,, the price has registered a growth of RMB 25 per tonne to RMB...
Shanghai Metals Market found that slow expansion of domestic aluminium capacity led to an oversupply of pre-baked anode in China. This, together with higher overseas prices of pre-baked anode, drove exports of the material higher on a yearly basis in 2018. In October, China exported some 128,000 tonnes of pre-baked anode, up 53.9 per cent from a year ago. This brought in the total pre-baked anode exports from China during January-October at 1.03 million tonnes, up 23.1 per cent from the contemporary period last year, showed data by China Customs. The growth of domestic aluminium capacity slowed to below 5 per cent in the recent three years, with a negative increase of -2 per cent in 2017. However, the capacity of pre-baked anode maintained a growth rate of around 5 per cent. After a great...
As reported by Shanghai Metals Market, SPIC Ningxia plans to cut production at its Wuzhong plant on account of high costs and sluggish prices of aluminium. SPIC Ningxia, an aluminium smelter owned by China State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) and Ningxia Power Investment Corporation, is set to cut aluminium capacity by 50,000 tonnes in January, 2019, a source told SMM. The smelter has an overall aluminium capacity by 990,000 tonnes currently. China’s aluminium producers are set to cut another 800,000 tonnes per year of smelting capacity in coming months, according to an official at the industry body that organised a rare meeting of smelters on Friday. In 2018, smelters by now have cut more than 3.2 million tonnes of capacity; about 80 per cent of it in the second half of the year....
According to Shanghai Metals Market, spot aluminium sellers across eastern and southern markets in China showed keen interests in offloading cargoes on Monday, December 24. The imminent year-end prompted sellers to clean their stocks and cash in, which as a result, increased cargoes offload. The SHFE January contract rebounded from the earlier lows during morning trades on Monday. Spot discounts in Shanghai were heard at RMB 80 per tonne to RMB 70 per tonne against the SHFE 1901 contract, compared to RMB 70 per tonne to RMB 60 per tonne seen on Friday morning. In Shanghai and Wuxi, most transactions were heard at RMB 13,600 per tonne to RMB 13,610 per tonne while in Hangzhou, the transaction was at RMB 13,620 per tonne to RMB 13,630 per tonne. The prices were up close to RMB 50 per tonne...
Liberty House, the industrial group owned by Sanjeev Gupta, is in talks to acquire aluminium and steel assets in the UAE as the company looks to expand its presence in the Middle East, according to news published by The National. David Dawson, the chief executive of Liberty House Industries, a unit of the parent company, said: “We are significantly advanced on two particular acquisitions and hope to make some announcement in the next year.” “We are keen to establish our industrial presence in the Middle East and what we are really doing in many ways is replicating our global strategy.” Mr Dawson said that the Liberty House Industries expects its revenue to grow up to 20% in 2019 in the region if the acquisition in the UAE is finalised. “Despite some market challenges around the region, we...
The US dollar index recovered to 97 on Friday from a month-low on Thursday after the Federal Reserve signalled fewer interest rate hikes over the next two years and expressed caution about the US economic outlook. LME base metals, except for tin, traded lower on Friday with aluminium fell 0.4%. SHFE aluminium inched up 0.1%. The LME aluminium contract closed Friday’s trading at US$ 1920 per tonne, from US$ 1923.50 per tonne on Thursday, December 20. LME aluminium fell to close at US$1,907 per tonne on Friday night as the US mulled lifting Rusal sanctions. SMM expects the metal to trade at US$1,890-1,920 per tonne today. As on December 21, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stood at US$ 1919 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 1920 per tonne; 3-months 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, dropped 4,000 tonnes over the weekend ended on Monday, December 24, to stand at 1.276 million tonnes. The decline was, however, slower compared to the previous day, primarily because of more arrivals from smelters over the weekend. The current status of primary aluminium inventories across China is given in the chart below: In the background, the spot price of A00 aluminium ingot recorded a jump today, on December 24, from RMB 13,560 per tonne to RMB 13,620 per tonne, marking a growth of RMB 60 per tonne. This marks a rise for the second day in a row after a plunge on December 20, from RMB 13,590 per tonne to RMB 13,510 per tonne. On December...
According to a Reuters report, trading house Marubeni has projected Japan aluminium premiums to rise towards a range of between US$100 and US$130 a tonne in late 2019 due to tighter global supplies despite Rusal getting back into action. LME aluminium prices sank to a 16-month low on Thursday on the news that it would withdraw sanctions on Rusal in one month. “We didn’t expect the U.S. to lift the sanction on Rusal this early, but aluminium market has largely discounted the lifting for some time,” Hideya Kitamura, general manager at Marubeni’s light metals section, told reporters on Thursday. He also added that aluminium price would recover next year on supply tightness and premiums would rise above $100 a tonne in and after April during pick demand season. Japan being Asia’s top...
According to a report by Reuters, China’s aluminium producers are set to cut more than 800,000 tonnes per year of smelting capacity. The news came after analysts from Antaike attending a key smelter meeting in the southern region of Guangxi today said this. However, the analysts attending the meeting did not say over what time period that capacity cuts would be made. In 2018, smelters by now have closed more than 3.2 million tonnes of capacity; about 80 per cent of it in the second half of the year amid a slump in aluminium prices, said Antaike analysts. The incessant fall of aluminium prices and slow demand for the metal this year has brought together the major aluminium producers of China in Guangxi on December 21. Aluminium futures on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) are down 13.5...
Canada seemed to have been all ears to the tariff exemption request from the construction industry in British Columbia in November. British Columbia is the westernmost province in Canada that depends primarily on imported metal. On Wednesday, December 19, Canada reportedly announced that it would exclude some aluminium and steel imported from the US from its newest tariffs and quotas. The government said it would also give additional relief to some companies that have contractual obligations. In Canada, automakers frequently buy US steel under contract and distribute among Canadian suppliers as well as feed their own plants. However, it was not immediately clear which companies would be affected. Canada also said on Wednesday that it would give relief for steel product imports that were...
European Aluminium has appointed Emilio Braghi as the association’s Chairman. Braghi has been appointed for a two-year term starting on 1 January 2019. Emilio Braghi is Senior Vice President and President at Novelis Europe, overseeing ten European facilities for recycling aluminium and manufacturing aluminium rolled products for a number of sectors, including automotive, building, packaging and transportation. “I am delighted to be appointed the new Chairman of European Aluminium at a crucial time for our industry. During my chairmanship, ensuring a long-term vision of industrial competitiveness, sustainability and innovation while addressing global trade challenges will remain key priorities. To realise this vision, we will continue to work with policymakers and other stakeholdersto...
The US dollar index saw its largest daily percentage drop in six weeks on Thursday after the Federal Reserve signalled fewer interest rate hikes over the next two years. LME base metals traded mixed on Thursday and SHFE base metals ended in the black across the board overnight. LME Aluminium rose 0.4% and SHFE aluminium inched up 0.2%. The LME aluminium contract closed Thursday’s trading at US$ 1923.50 per tonne, lower than last closing after the contract lost momentum on the news of lifting of sanctions on Rusal. As the US dollar index fell below 97, LME aluminium traded higher on Thursday night, but ended at US$1,915.5 per tonne. With weakness in the dollar, LME aluminium is likely to rebound slightly and trade at US$1,915-1,930 per tonne today. As on December 20, Thursday, LME...
According to a report by a Romanian daily financial newspaper Ziarul Financiar, local brokerage firm Swiss Capital successfully placed 241 million shares of Romanian aluminium producer Alro Slatina through an accelerated book build (ABB). The shares sold represented a stake of nearly 34 per cent in the company and the value of the deal amounted to RON 723 million, equivalent to EUR 155 million. The transaction closed at a price of RON 3 per share, 11.5 per cent under Alro’s closing price on December 18. This summer, Alro’s major shareholder Vimetco attempted to sell a 54 per cent stake in Alro through a secondary public offering (SPO) but failed. The targeted price range in the SPO was RON 3.5-4. In the first nine months of 2018, Alro recorded a net profit of RON 203 million (EUR 43.6...
