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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Shanghai Metals Market research found that aluminium spot discounts barely recorded any change on Wednesday, November 7, across the Shanghai Market while traders remained enthusiastic to offload cargoes. The SHFE aluminium contract for November delivery also inched up though in a tight range in the morning trading hours. Most transactions in Shanghai were heard at RMB 13,800 per tonne to RMB 13,820 per tonne, with spot discounts at RMB 50 per tonne to RMB 30 per tonne, compared to RMB 40 per tonne to RMB 30 per tonne in the previous day, against the SHFE 1811 contract. Transactions in Hangzhou, on the other hand, were mostly done at RMB 13,840 per tonne to RMB 13,850 per tonne while that in Wuxi were at RMB 13,800 per tonne to RMB 13,820 per tonne. But apart from this, the overall trades...
The US dollar index fell to the lowest in two weeks after the US midterm election results and as investors looked ahead to a Federal Reserve meeting for signals on future interest rate hikes. LME and SHFE base metals closed mixed as LME aluminium led the increase and rose 1.61%. LME aluminium closed Wednesday’s trading at US$ 1951.5 per tonne. It then surged to a high of US$1,993.5 per tonne near closing and settled at US$1,985.5 per tonne. Shanghai Metals Market expects the contract to trade at US$1,960-1,990 per tonne today. As on November 7, Tuesday, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stood at US$ 1950.50 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 1951.50 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 1962 per tonne, 3-months offer price is US$ 1963 per tonne; Dec 19 bid price...
According to Shanghai Metals Market, social inventories of primary aluminium across eight major consumption areas in China, including SHFE warrants, came down again by 40,000 tonnes from last Thursday, November 1, to 1.485 million tonnes as of today, November 8. SMM believes fewer arrivals to the warehouses accounted for the extended decline in social inventories. In Wuxi and Jiangsu, the inventory dropped from straight from 659000 tonnes, as on November 1, to 643,000 tonnes today while the inventory in Shanghai plunged from 346,000 tonnes to 341,000 tonnes. Inventories in some markets like Hangzhou, Zhejiang; Linyi, Shandong; and Chongqing, on the other hand, rose a bit from 97,000 tonnes to 98,000 tonnes, from 23,000 tonnes to 25,000 tonnes, and from 22,000 tonnes to 24,000 tonnes,...
The US dollar dipped from Monday as America headed to the polls. It closed at 96.27, limited by investor caution about the US midterm elections and potential fallout for the world's largest economy. The pound and euro edged higher on weakness in the greenback. Weak fundamentals weighed LME aluminium to the lowest since early August last year of US$1,950 per tonne yesterday. Open interests lost 2,083 lost to 675,000 lots. Shanghai Metals Market expects the contract to trade at US$1,940-1,990 per tonne today. As on November 6, Tuesday, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stood at US$ 1948 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 1950 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 1968 per tonne, 3-months offer price is US$ 1969 per tonne; Dec 19 bid price stands at US$ 2028 per tonne,...
The Managing Director of Hindalco Mr. Satish Pai reported to ET Now that the company delivered good aluminium results in the second quarter of this year despite the less than impressive aluminium prices and higher input costs. The company reportedly sold nearly 25,000 tonnes of more aluminium in Q2 than in Q1. According to Mr. Pai, this was possible because of the rupee depreciation in the first place, and good and efficient operations during the monsoon period. He particularly said, “Of course, our alumina prices are fully backward integrated and the higher alumina prices do not have a negative impact on Hindalco Aluminium. In a very tough monsoon quarter, our aluminium results were very good.” Utkal Alumina, a 100 per cent subsidiary of Hindalco Industries, is considered a game changer...
The US dollar lost ground against most of major currencies on Monday, as growing expectations of an orderly Brexit bolstered the pound, euro and global investor sentiment. The dollar closed at 96.32. This was ahead of the US midterm elections on November 6 that many analysts say will set the trend for the greenback, and all of the global currency market. LME base metals fell across the board while SHFE contracts closed mixed. LME aluminium slid 0.63%. LME aluminium closed Monday’s trading at US$ 1959 per tonne. It then rose to a high of US$1,991 per tonne overnight and lost upward momentum after that. The contract settled at US$1,974.5 per tonne with little upward room expected today. Trading range is likely at US$1,960-1,990 per tonne today. As on November 5, Monday, LME aluminium cash...
Representatives from three major aluminium associations in North America, from the U.S. Canada and Mexico have sent a joint letter to President Trump today calling for quota-free tariff exemptions on North American aluminium as part of the final U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. They congratulated on reaching an initial agreement on the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and expressed their support towards a modernized, trilateral agreement that recognizes the importance of the integrated North American supply chain. They vowed on working together to resolve the national security concerns related to the Section 232 tariffs on aluminium products. But, urged the United States to reinstate the exemptions from the aluminium tariffs for Canada and Mexico. This, according to the industry...
Russian aluminium major Rusal has appointed a new chief executive on Monday after reporting a 42 per cent jump in third-quarter recurring net profit from second quarter with the postponement of U.S. sanctions till December. The U.S. Treasury Department in April put sanction on Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska and eight companies in which he is a large shareholder, including aluminium producer Rusal, citing “malign activities". The sanctions have been postponed several times as the United States considers excluding Rusal from the U.S. blacklist if Deripaska disowns all his shares in the company. The deadline was last extended to December 12. Oleg Deripaska stepped down as a director of his aluminium firm Rusal in June 2018. He was then preparing for reducing his stake in En+, the group...
Rusal’s aluminium production for the nine months ended 30 September of 2018 totalled 2.8 million tonnes (+1.7% YoY), with Siberian smelters representing 94% of total aluminium output. Smelters utilization remained on average at 97%. Aluminium production in Q3 2018 stood at 940,000 tonnes while that in 2017 was at 931,000 tonnes. Production cost per tonne for nine-month 2018 rose 12% YoY to US$ 1658 per tonne as a result of significant increase in electricity, key raw materials prices and railway transportation tariffs. Rusal’s sales of primary aluminium and alloys for the nine months of 2018 decreased by 5.4% to 2.7 million tonnes, as compared to 2.9 million tonnes sold through nine months of 2017. Revenue from sales of primary aluminium and alloys increased by USD377 million, or by 6.2%,...
Aluminium smelting is the most important power-intensive industry in Iceland. Rio Tinto Alcan operates Iceland’s first aluminium smelter (ISAL) while Century Aluminium Company operates the second plant. United States-based aluminium manufacturer Alcoa also runs another plant near the town of Reyðarfjörður. With these three major smelting companies present in Iceland, aluminium is one of the main materials exported by the country, which reportedly drives its economy as well. According to the global export-import data, Iceland’s aluminium (both alloyed and non-alloyed) export is seeing a year-on-year rise. In the first half of 2016, Iceland had exported 282,694 tonnes, which in the same period next year rose to 463,000 tonnes. This means the country witnessed a rise in aluminium export by...
The US dollar index rebounded and closed at 96.49 last Friday on upbeat US non-farm payrolls. However, concerns about data for the upcoming service purchasing managers’ index (PMI) limited the rise of the US dollar. LME and SHFE base metals ended higher for the most part on Friday night. Aluminium rose 0.56%. LME aluminium surged twice and touched a high of US$2,005.5 per tonne last Friday night after closing the day’s trading at US$ 1967 per tonne. Limited support brought it to settle at US$1,987 per tonne. It is expected to trade at US$1,960-2,010 per tonne today. As on November 2, Friday, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stood at US$ 1966.50 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 1967per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 1984.50 per tonne, 3-months offer price is...
Social inventories of primary aluminium across eight consumption areas in China, including SHFE warrants, dropped some 25,000 tonnes from Thursday November 1 to stand at 1.5 million tonnes as of Monday November 5, Shanghai Metals Market data showed. Supplies shrank while outflows from social warehouses remained stable and this accounted for the decline in inventories of primary aluminium over the weekend. In Wuxi and Jiangsu, the inventory declined to 643,000 tonnes today, from 659,000 tonnes on Thursday November 1; in Shanghai and Nanhai, Guangdong, the inventory came in at 342,000 tonnes and 225,000 tonnes respectively. In Gongyi, Henan, the inventory declined to 89,000 tonnes today. The current inventory status in the major Chinese cities is as follow: In another update from SMM, China...
Vedanta Limited, Jharsuguda’s Aluminum Smelting Business & Captive Power Plant (CPP) and Thermal Power Plant Business received Golds of the Kalinga Safety Awards for the 2017 for its excellent safety practices at the Odisha State Safety Conclave (OSSC) 2018 on 2nd November 2018 at Bhubaneshwar. Mr. Abhijit Pati, CEO of Vedanta Ltd. Jharsuguda said: “this award is a recognition of our consistence effort to ensure a zero harm environment in and around our operation. We dedicate it towards the vision of our chairman Mr. Anil Agrawal and committed effort of our employees and partners in imbibing a safety first culture’. The awards were presented to Vedanta Ltd., Jharsuguda by the Honorable Governor of Odisha – Prof. Ganesh Lal along with the President of Odisha State productivity council –...
According to the data shared by Shanghai Metals Market on Friday, November 2, spot aluminium discounts across eastern markets expanded while sellers held offers firm after prices of futures came off from earlier highs. The SHFE aluminium contract for November delivery fell below RMB 13,480 per tonne after initially climbing to a high at RMB 13, 915 per tonne in morning trade. In Shanghai, spot discounts were found at RMB 50 per tonne to RMB 40 per tonne, compared to RMB 40 per tonne to RMB 30 per tonne in the previous day. Transactions, on the other hand, wer e mostly done at RMB 13,790 per tonne to RMB 13,800 per tonne in Shanghai and Wuxi, while that in Hangzhou were at RMB 13,820 per tonne to RMB 13,830 per tonne. The drop in prices over the last three days, however, provoked the...
The US dollar reached multi-month highs last week and reversed some of the gains by the end of the week. The strong dollar along with the absence of strong market fundamentals put pressure on LME and the LME official settlement price plunged to the lowest since August 2017. The LME aluminium contract started the week with a gain at US$1980.5 per tonne and continued falling to reach US$ 1946 per tonne on November 1. The contract closed the week slightly higher at US$ 1967 per tonne on Friday November 2. Though it is slightly higher than the lowest, it continued its three-day losing streak and ended the week in the black. LME aluminium is likely to trade at US$1,960-2,000 per tonne over next week. As on November 2, Friday, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stood at US$ 1966.50 per tonne, LME...
Hindalco Industries Limited, the metals flagship company of the Aditya Birla Group, announced Q2 FY19 results for Utkal Alumina, Hindalco standalone, as well as Aluminium Business. The company reported 5% increase in its Q2 FY2019 revenue at INR10,833 crore against INR10,313 crore in Q2 FY18. EBITDA (Earnings before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation) at Rs.1,922 crore in Q2 FY19, compared to INR1825 crore in Q2 FY18. Net profit jumped 54% to INR 725 crore in Q2FY19 against INR470 crore in Q2FY18. The performance rode on the back of supporting macros, improvement in operational efficiencies and better realisation. This was despite increase in input costs, mainly of coal and furnace oil. Revenue from its aluminium segment rose 18% to INR 6,135 crore, as compared to INR5,218 crore...
The Government of India is likely to postpone the imposition of higher import duties once again on American goods by another 45 days, a finance ministry official told Cogencis. “The government will soon issue the notification regarding the same. The hike in import duty on US goods is likely to be deferred by another 45 days,” the official said. The new deadline for imposing higher tariffs on the US would be December 17 to December 18. This will be the third time for India to have extended the deadline for imposing higher tariffs on US imports following President Donald Trump’s decision to raise tariffs on imported aluminium and steel products. In June, the government had decided to impose tariffs on US goods from August 4, which later on, got extended to September 18 and then to November...
The US dollar retreated from multi-month highs on Thursday while the pound rose the most in nine months on reports that London is close to a financial services deal with Brussels. Most LME and SHFE base metals ended in the black overnight and aluminium dipped 0.1%. LME aluminium closed Thursday's trading at US$ 1961 per tonne, slightly lower than the day before. While the aluminium contract reversed some gains it made on dips in the dollar, it continued its three-day losing streak and ended in the black overnight. Positive momentum from the US-China talk and gains in US stocks might grow risk sentiment among investors. LME aluminium is likely to trade at US$1,960-2,000 per tonne today. As on November 1, Thursday, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stood at US$ 1959 per tonne, LME official...
