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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The US dollar extended its decline from 16-month highs against the euro and pound, which increased as traders monitored developments of Brexit and the Italian budget. LME aluminium closed Wednesday’s trading at US$ 1931per tonne. The contract then faced pressure as it grew to a high of US$1,948 per tonne overnight. Limited upward momentum saw it close at US$1,942 per tonne, still below the five- and 10-day moving averages. It is likely to trade at US$1,920-1,960 per tonne today. As on November 14, Wednesday, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stood at US$ 1930 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 1931 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 1943.50 per tonne, 3-months offer price is US$ 1944.50 per tonne; Dec 19 bid price stands at US$ 2008 per tonne, and Dec 19 offer...
Shanghai Metals Market research found brisk transactions between traders and the approaching delivery date expanded spot aluminium premiums in Shanghai on Wednesday November 14. The SHFE aluminium contract for November delivery pared earlier losses in morning trades. Premiums stood at RMB20-30 per tonne over the SHFE 1811 contract. Against the January contract, Transactions were done in discounts of RMB50-40 per tonne on Wednesday. Most transactions in Shanghai, Wuxi and Hangzhou were heard at RMB 13,730-13,750 per tonne. With ample supplies in the markets, traders were keen to make transactions while downstream consumers purchased on demand. In another update from SMM, the average price of A00 Aluminium Ingot has today dropped by RMB 70 per tonne to stand at RMB13640 per tonne, from RMB...
The US dollar index stemmed its increase on Tuesday after the euro and pound gained on hopes in discussions over the Italian budget and Brexit. LME aluminium continues trading weak and closed November 14 Tuesday’s trading at US$1925 per tonne. It followed the weak trading pattern overnight, pressured by high US dollar index. It stopped falling at US$1,928 per tonne and closed at US$1,936 per tonne. Trading range is seen at US$1,930-1,970 per tonne today. As on November 13, Tuesday, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stood at US$ 1924.50 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 1925 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 1937.50 per tonne, 3-months offer price is US$ 1938 per tonne; Dec 19 bid price stands at US$ 2000 per tonne, and Dec 19 offer price stands at US$ 2005 per...
Shanghai Metals Market research found most transactions of spot aluminium in Shanghai were done between discounts of RMB 10 per tonne to premiums of RMB 20 per tonne on Tuesday, November 13, relative to the SHFE 1811 contraction. The SHFE aluminium contract for November delivery traded range-bound on Tuesday morning while in Shanghai, most transactions occurred with discounts of up to RMB 10 per tonne from the previous day. Traded prices in Shanghai and Wuxi were heard at RMB 13720 per tonne to RMB 13740 per tonne and in Hangzhou at RMB 13730 per tonne to RMB 13750 per tonne. Transactions between traders remained brisk but overall trading liquidity across eastern markets improved from the previous day as sellers remained keen to offload cargoes and downstream consumers showed keenness to...
National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO) has once again repeated its strong performance by posting a turnover of INR5952 crore in the first half of FY 2018- 19, registering a growth of 42% YoY. The company has posted net profit of INR 1197 crore during the first half of 2018-19, up 229% from INR364 crore during the first half of 2017-18. While the net profit of NALCO in the H1 of current fiscal has increased around three-fold, operating Profit of the company has increased more than four-fold, registering INR1624 crore in 2018-19 compared to INR334 crore in H1 of FY 2017-18. EBITDA margin of the company during the period has doubled from 17 % to 34%, according to NALCO press release. In the Q2 of the financial year 2018-19 , NALCO said its net profit more than doubled to INR510 crore, as...
The Arab International Aluminium Conference (ARABAL) is the premium trade event for the Middle East's aluminium industry. Kuwait Industries Co. Holding are the host of the 22nd ARABAL in its 35th year. ARABAL’s theme this year focuses on ‘The Global Challenges to the Aluminium Industry and Suitable Solutions’. ARABAL combines a strategic conference with an international exhibition. Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) is a key participant of ARABAL being held from 11 to 13 November 2018 in Kuwait. Alba’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer (DCEO) and Chief Supply Officer Ali Al Baqali was a key speaker on the ‘Industry Dynamics’ panel discussion held on Monday 12 November. Also, He is a on the ‘Investor Experience’ panel discussion to be held on Tuesday 13 November at ARABAL. Speaking at the ARABAL 2018...
As announced last week that Shandong made a seven-year plan to reorganise its aluminium sector from the ground up. Regulators anticipate that this move will yield significant benefits to the country’s processing and fabricating firms. Shandong’s provincial government officially released this plan, entitled “Implementation Plan to Accelerate High-quality Development of Seven Industries with High Energy Consumption” on November 5, as part of an official notice. The primary aim of this plan is to ramp up the operational efficiency and quality by streamlining the structure of several major industries in Shandong. The major industries include aluminium, steel, and petroleum coke production. As per the report, the provincial government also intends to reduce the electrical usage, first by...
The US dollar closed at 97.56, a 16-month high against a basket of currencies as investors built bets on an increase in interest rates next month. Brexit deal concerns and a growing rift in Europe over Italy's budget also buoyed the dollar. Amid fresh uncertainty over Brexit deal, the pound slipped under $1.29 during overnight Asian trading and extended its decline later as London opened 1% lower on the day. LME aluminium dipped to another new low as it closed Monday’s trading at US$1934 per tonne. During night trading, it dropped to a low of US$1,937 per tonne after it failed to test resistance above twice overnight. Pressured by a stronger US dollar, it is expected to trade at US$1,920-1,950 per tonne today. As on November 12, Monday, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stood at US$ 1933 per...
According to SMM the latest average price of A00 Aluminium Ingot has today dropped to stand at RMB13720 per tonne, down RMB 110 per tonne from RMB 13830 per tonne on November 12. The average price would range between RMB 13700 – 13740 per tonne. A00 aluminium ingot prices are down across all major markets. In east market, the price has decreased by RMB100 per tonne to stand at RMB 137300 per tonne. In the south and north, the prices have fallen by RMB 120 per tonne and RMB 90 per tonne to stand at RMB 13780 per tonne and RMB 13760 per tonne, respectively. The average price of Aluminium Alloys (ADC12) dropped to RMB 15350 per tonne today on November 13 from RMB 15400 per tonne yesterday and expected to move within a range of RMB 15250 – 15450 per tonne. The prices of two major aluminium...
As reported by a company press release, Rio Tinto has completed the lease and sale of a dock and land in Kitimat, British Columbia, to LNG Canada for an estimated value of $576 million. LNG Canada was a joint venture comprising Shell, PETRONAS, PetroChina, Mitsubishi Corporation and KOGAS. It is a large industrial energy project to build and operate an LNG liquefaction, storage and loading terminal in the port of Kitimat, BC. The company entered into an agreement with Rio Tinto in 2014 for various options to lease or purchase its dock or wharf and areas of land. Rio Tinto Chief financial officer Jakob Stausholm said "This sale demonstrates our ability to generate cash from an existing asset, without losing future cash flow, as we continue to drive value across our entire portfolio.” Rio...
According to Shanghai Metals Market, the A00 aluminium ingot price has extended its plunge over the weekend by RMB 30 per tonne on Monday, November 12, to stand at RMB 13830 per tonne. The average prices are expected to range between RMB 13810 per tonne and RMB 13850 per tonne, with spot discount to stand at RMB 40 per tonne. In the east, the ingot price has slipped by RMB 35 per tonne and stood at RMB 13830 per tonne, same as that of the average spot price. In the south and north, on the other hand, the prices have dropped by RMB 50 per tonne and RMB 10 per tonne to stand at RMB 13900 per tonne and RMB 13850 per tonne, respectively. The average ingot spot price has been witnessing drop week-on-week in spite of the lowered inventories. Social inventories of primary aluminium across eight...
The US dollar rose against most major currencies on Friday and settled at 96.88. Major Base metals fell across the board as LME aluminium declined 1.31% last week. LME aluminium closed at US$ 1964.5 per tonne on Friday November 9, down from US$ 1977 per tonne on Thursday November 8. LME aluminium fell to the lowest of last Friday night at $1,954 per tonne today morning as the US extended the deadline for sanctions on Russian aluminium producer Rusal. SMM expects LME aluminium to trade at US$1,950-1,990 per tonne today. As on November 9, Friday, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stood at US$ 1963.50 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 1964.50 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 1971 per tonne, 3-months offer price is US$ 1971.50 per tonne; Dec 19 bid price stands at...
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has once again extended the expiration date of certain general licenses related to EN+ Group plc (EN+), United Company RUSAL PLC (RUSAL), and GAZ Group (GAZ) until January 7, 2019. The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) had extended the expiration date from 12 November 2018 to 23 October 2018. “EN+, RUSAL, and GAZ are proposing substantial corporate governance changes that could potentially result in significant changes in control of these sanctioned entities. As the review of these complex proposals is ongoing, OFAC is extending the expiration date of related licenses until January 7,” said a Treasury spokesperson. In April, The U.S. Treasury had imposed sanctions against...
British-owned Liberty, part of Sanjeev Gupta’s global GFG Alliance, has received the financing for the purchase of Aluminium Dunkirk, Europe’s largest aluminium smelter from Rio Tint. The company has entered into a committed financing agreement with a syndicate of major international banks. The term loan secured on standard financial terms provides five year committed funds, it said in a press release. “This now clears the way for the eagerly-anticipated deal on the 560-worker site to be formally completed before the end of November following the completion of closing mechanics.” The development follows extensive talks over recent months aimed at securing French Government approvals, long-term power price contracts and robust measures to protect the business in the face of aluminium...
On October 29 to November 1, Belem, the capital of the Para state of Brazil held the 36th International Conference and Exhibition of ICSOBA. The selection of Belem for the 36th International Conference and Exhibition followed ICSOBA’s practice of rotating the venue of International Meetings to countries that play an important role in the global aluminium industry. This year, the conference obtained support from Hydro, the host sponsor and attracted 225 delegates from 26 countries. From Brazil alone, 95 graced the conference with their presence. Very high-quality papers were selected for presentations (99) and published in volume 47 of TRAVAUX conference proceedings. During the Conference, an Exhibition of latest technologies, equipment and other devices for the bauxite, alumina and...
According to the data shared by Shanghai Metals Market, China’s primary aluminium production for the month of October stood at 3.114 million tonnes, up 3.5 per cent from the same period last year. This grew overall production during January-October to 30.166 million tonnes but still stood lower by 0.8 per cent than the corresponding period last year. As of the end of October, there were about 37.48 million tonnes of primary aluminium capacity in operation across China and about 4.82 million tonnes of idle capacity. Operating rates dipped 0.3 percentage points from a month ago to 88.6 per cent. New capacity continued to commission while old capacity continued being cut. Operating capacity, on the other hand, expanded since September after a steep contraction in July-August. SMM data shows...
Shanghai Metals Market believes that supplies of aluminium ingot in China may expand in the fourth quarter of 2018 as the demand would likely to remain sluggish. Production, on the other hand, grew month-on-month. In September, China produced 3 million tonnes of primary aluminium which in the next month increased to 3.114 million tonnes. This imbalance between production and consumption led to losses for many aluminium producers and consequentially output cut. About 1.35 million tonnes of capacity has been cut so far this year. But new capacities are soon to come online, on the other hand. SMM estimates that more than 2 million tonnes of new capacity would come online across 18 producers by the end of the year. Monthly operating primary aluminium capacity held relatively stable in...
Base metals closed mixed with SHFE contracts rising for the most part. SHFE aluminium lost 0.14%, while LME aluminium slid 0.23%. LME aluminium was pressured by a strong US dollar as the Federal Reserve announced that it will maintain its monetary policy and indicated further gradual rate hikes. LME aluminium closed Thursday’s trading at US$ 1977 per tonne. It slumped from a high of US$2,002 tonne to the lowest overnight at US$1,981per tonne. Shanghai Metals Market expects the contract trade at US$1,960-2,000 per tonne today. As on November 8, Tuesday, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stood at US$ 1975 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 1977 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 1981 per tonne, 3-months offer price is US$ 1982 per tonne; Dec 19 bid price stands at...
