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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Alcoa, Century Aluminium, and Rio Tinto Alcan are the three notable aluminium smelters in Iceland. In the year 1969, Iceland started producing aluminium in Straumsvík (South Coast). During the first year, the production capacity was at 33 thousand tonnes, which currently is at 850 thousand tonnes (including both aluminium non-alloy and alloy) every year on average. The country exports a lion share of its production, accounting for 14 per cent of total exports of goods and services, as of Q3 2017. {newsStudioGallery} The below graph shows the growth of Iceland’s aluminium and aluminium products export over the years: According to the global export-import data, the estimated aluminium export from Iceland in Q1 2017 was at 188,522 tonnes, 12 per cent up from the estimated volume of 167,815...
Alba’s Line 6 Expansion Project is a turning point for the Kingdom of Bahrain and the aluminium industry in the Region. We now look forward to the next phase of the Line 6 Expansion Project, which will make us the world’s largest single-site aluminium smelter, according to a statement issued by the Chairman of Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. Alba’s Board of Directors, Shaikh Daij Bin Salman Bin Daij Al Khalifa. This statement was made during the third quarterly Board of Directors meeting for this year, held on Wednesday, 26 September 2018 at Alba. Adding further, Shaikh Daij stated: “We are pleased to have safely progressed our roadmap for future growth as we aim to pour Line 6 First Hot Metal by January 01, 2019.” During the meeting, the Board approved the Minutes of the previous meeting, which...
Hindalco Industries chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla has said the company’s fourth captive coal mine at Dumri may become operational by March 2019. Speaking at the 59th annual general meeting of the company in Mumbai, he said that Hindalco has secured around 3.2 million tonne of coal in the linkage auctions that concluded during FY18. With this, the total quantity of secured coal via linkages reached to 11.9 million tonne, and accounts for 71 per cent of the annual coal requirements of the company. The overall annual requirement of coal is currently secured at more than 90 per cent, through long-term linkages and captive mines, he added. He added: “Currently, three captive mines viz. Gare Palma IV/4, Gare Palma IV/5 and Kathautia are operational. The fourth captive mine at Dumri is in the...
The dollar gained on Wednesday in choppy trading after the Federal Reserve raised US interest rates as expected for the eighth time. LME aluminium gained and closed higher from the previous day at US$ 2056.5 per tonne on Wednesday on quick dropping of LME inventory. More and more metal are moving out of the LME warehouses with the extension of Rusal’s sanction deadline. Aluminium inventories in warehouses approved by the London Metal Exchange fell below 1 million tonnes for the first time since March 2008. The contract then traded range bound and closed at US$2,055 per tonne overnight and is expected to continue such rangebound pattern today with a trading range of US$2,040-2,100 per tonne. As on September 26, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stands at US$ 2056 per tonne, LME official...
As reported by Shanghai Metals Market, China's inventory of primary aluminium across major consumption areas in China, including SHFE warrants, shrank 33,000 tonnes from last Thursday to stand at 1.59 million tonne as of Thursday September 27. Inventories once again recorded a decline as downstream consumers stockpiled ahead of the week-long National Day holiday and limited materials arrived at the warehouses. In Wuxi and Jiangsu, the inventory dropped from 699,000 tonnes, as of September 20, to 686,000 tonnes on September 27; in Shanghai, the inventory dropped from 371,000 tonnes, to 363,000 tonnes; in Gongyi and Henan, the inventory stood at 138,000 tonnes on September 27, from 147,000 tonnes on September 20. The current inventory status in the major Chinese cities is as follows: The...
Shanghai Metals Market found that this year the Chinese aluminium inventory cycle so far has lingered in a destocking phase for 25 weeks, as of Wednesday September 26. This has been the longest destocking period since 2007, which was first recorded in 2011. As of Tuesday September 25, the social inventories of primary aluminium across major consumption areas in China had stood at 1.606 million tonnes, down 29.64 per cent from the peak of 2.284 million tonnes notched on March 12, 2018. The primary reasons behind these shrinking inventories across China could be the production cut and shutdown of capabilities, SMM found. In March-August, Chinese smelters produced 18.31 million tonnes of primary aluminium, down 1.6 per cent from the contemporary period of 2017. In June-September, over...
The union at Alcoa’s aluminium operations in the state of Western Australia said it was meeting with the company again on Wednesday to try to resolve a strike that has lasted more than six weeks, after the firm last week revised an earlier offer. Unionised workers at two alumina refineries and three bauxite mines walked out on Aug. 8 on worries that a new workplace agreement did not adequately address job security. The strike has come during a period of very tight supply for aluminium-making material alumina, helping prices for the commodity rally by 20 percent over a month. “(The union’s negotiating team) is meeting with Alcoa this Wednesday to discuss a resolution to the dispute,” said Australian Workers’ Union State Secretary Mike Zoetbrood. He said that union members had met last...
The dollar was slightly weaker on Tuesday ahead of a Federal Reserve meeting. The market is expecting another interest rate hike, leaving little room for further currency gains. Both LME and SHFE base metals ended in mixed performance overnight. After opening the week higher at US$ 2035 per tonne, LME aluminium slid and closed at US$ 2020 per tonne on Tuesday. Then the contract broke through resistance at several moving averages to a high of US$2,033.5 per tonne before it came off from the 20-day moving average to close at the 40-day moving average. Shanghai Metals Market expects LME aluminium to remain strong in the short term and trade at US$2,055-2,075 per tonne today. As on September 25, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stands at US$ 2018 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands...
According to the Shanghai Metals Market report, primary aluminium spot discounts in the east China market had slightly widened yesterday, September 25, after the Mid-Autumn Festival. The market was oversupplied amid sellers’ enthusiasm to offload cargoes. Purchasing activity, however, had taken a back seat as buyers took a wait-and-watch stance. This exacerbated the supply overhang across the market. This scenario is more or less similar even today, on September 26, except the fact that buying enthusiasm among downstream consumers have spurred as they have begun to stockpile for the National Day holiday, SMM found. The SHFE morning contract for October delivery today is still sluggish like yesterday in the morning trading hours. Yesterday, on September 25, most transactions in Shanghai...
According to the latest update by Shanghai Metals Market, primary aluminium inventories across eight consumption areas in China, including SHFE warrants, fell by some 17,000 tonnes from last Thursday September 20 to stand at 1.606 million tonnes as of Tuesday September 25.China’s aluminium inventories extended their losses as downstream buyers stockpiled and limited cargoes arrived. In Wuxi and Jiangsu, the inventory dropped from 699,000 tonnes, as of September 20, to 693,000 tonnes on September 25; in Shanghai, the inventory dropped from 371,000 tonnes, to 366,000 tonnes; in Gongyi and Henan, the inventory stood at 139,000 tonnes on September 25, from 147,000 tonnes on September 20. More details are given in the table below: The A00 aluminium ingot price decreased RMB 130 per tonne to...
The US dollar index nudged up overnight as investors searched for fresh clues before a widely expected interest rate hike by the US central bank this week. LME base metals, except for zinc, fell across the board on Monday. Benchmark aluminium price on London Metal Exchange stayed almost flat and closed at US$2035 per tonne on Monday, September 24. According to Shanghai Metals Market Forecasts, LME aluminium would trade at a range of US$2,045-2,065 per tonne today. As on September 24, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stands at US$ 2034.50 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 2035 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 2065 per tonne, 3-months offer price is US$ 2066 per tonne; Dec 19 bid price stands at US$ 2115 per tonne, and Dec 19 offer price stands at US$ 2120 per...
Russia estimates its losses from steel and aluminum tariffs introduced by the United Statesa at $600 million, Russian Economic Development Minister Maxim Oreshkin said in an RT interview. "We have already calculated the damage done to our economy by this decision of the United States, it stands at about $600 million. We have already compensated $100 million by the duties that have been introduced," he said. In July, Russia approached the World Trade Organization (WTO) with a request to hold consultations with the United States concerning steel and aluminum duties imposed by Washington. Russia claims the US duties of 25% and 10% on imports of steel and aluminum products respectively are inconsistent with provisions of the WTO's General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994 and the...
A planned share sale in the UAE could be the latest casualty of President Donald Trump’s trade policies. For instance, Emirates Global Aluminium, owned by Mubadala Development Company of Abu Dhabi and Investment Corporation of Dubai, has already delayed its initial public offering (IPO), as per the report from a relevant source. The company without elaborating much on the incident only confirmed the news through an e-mail, stating that the delay in releasing IPO is attributable to unfavourable market conditions, which shows no sign of improvement until later in 2019. In May, the chief executive officer of Mubadala Investment Co. Khaldoon Al Mubarak had said that EGA could go public in the second half of 2018 or early 2019. But now the delay in declaring IPO could be due to the additional...
Benchmark aluminium price on London Metal Exchange increased to close at US$2034 per tonne on Friday, September 21, up from the previous day’s close at US$ 2018.5 per tonne on Thursday September 20. As on September 21, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stands at US$ 2032 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 2034 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 2066 per tonne, 3-months offer price is US$ 2067 per tonne; Dec 19 bid price stands at US$ 2107 per tonne, and Dec 19 offer price stands at US$ 2112 per tonne. The LME aluminium opening stock dropped to 1022450 tonnes. Live Warrants totalled at 711125tonnes, and Cancelled Warrants were 311325 tonne. LME aluminium 3-months Asian Reference Price is hovering at US$2057.80 per tonne. SME and SHFE Aluminium Price Trend The...
Some Japanese aluminium buyers have agreed to pay a global producer a premium of $103 per tonne for shipments in the October to December quarter, reflecting lower spot premiums, two sources directly involved in pricing talks said on Wednesday. The premium is 22 percent lower than the $132 per tonne premium in the current quarter and follows three quarters of rising premiums. Japan is Asia's biggest importer of aluminium and the premiums for primary metal shipments it agrees to pay each quarter over the London Metal Exchange (LME) cash price set the benchmark for the region.
The US dollar weakened Thursday, partly due to a buoyant British pound that was trading higher on the back of better-than-expected economic data. The pound has risen against the US dollar to hit a two-month high at 1.3288. LME aluminium settled 1.31% higher at US$2,056.5 per tonne after rising to a high of US$2,061 per tonne as the US dollar slid. Shanghai Metals Market sees limited downward room for the aluminium price with support from high costs of raw materials and falling inventories. LME aluminium will attempt to stand firm above the 20-day moving average, and trade at US$2,050-2,065 per tonne today. As on September 20, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stands at US$ 2018 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 2018.50 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 2046 per...
The start of aluminium production at Russia’s Taishet aluminium smelter, a project of sanctions-hit Rusal, has been postponed until after 2020, Russia’s economy ministry said in materials prepared for a government meeting. Rusal, which was targeted by U.S. sanctions in April, previously planned to build the first line of the Siberian smelter, with an annual capacity of 430,000 tonnes, by 2020. “Construction of ... Taishet smelter continues. However, the time frame for commissioning of aluminium production capacity is postponed until after 2020,” the ministry said. Rusal, the world’s No.2 aluminium producer after China’s Hongqiao, declined comment. Russian power company Rushydro, Rusal’s potential partner in the Taishet project, did not reply to a request for comment. Rushydro said...
Canada’s Aluminum Valley or the heart of the aluminium industry lies along a 50-mile stretch of the Saguenay River in the region of Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean, a two-hour drive north of Quebec City. The five aluminium smelters operating in the region account for 50% of Canada’s aluminium production. The residents in this region, who have been directly or indirectly dependent upon the aluminium sector has been following the negotiations between Canada and the United States over a new North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) very closely. The hope the agreement will clear the way towards lifting the US tariffs imposed upon steel and aluminium imported from Canada. Canada is the world’s third-largest producer of aluminium, mostly benefitted by the availability of hydroelectric power and...
