South32 expects the sale of its aluminium value chain assets to Alcoa to be completed in the six months ending June 2027. The proposed transaction covers its aluminium operations and related bauxite and alumina assets in South Africa, Australia and Brazil. The sale follows a binding conditional agreement signed by the two companies, under which Alcoa agreed to acquire the assets for up to USD 5.6 billion . The assets include South32's Hillside Aluminium smelter and the idled Bayside smelter in South Africa, its interests in the Boddington bauxite mine and Worsley alumina refinery in Australia, and the Mineração Rio do Norte bauxite mine and Alumar alumina refinery and aluminium smelter in Brazil. Explore the production, demand and consumption forecasts of bauxite and alumina in our...
LME aluminium cash prices recorded an increase on November 5, 2026, with the cash offer price rising by 0.80 per cent day on day to USD 3,160 per tonne from USD 3,135 per tonne on November 4. On November 5, the LME aluminium cash bid price stood at USD 3,158 per tonne, up by 0.75 per cent from USD 3,134.5 per tonne recorded on November 4. The cash offer price increased by USD 25 per tonne. Similarly, LME aluminium 3-month prices moved higher. The 3-month bid price rose by 0.78 per cent to USD 3,097 per tonne on November 5 from USD 3,073 per tonne on November 4. The 3-month offer price increased by 0.76 per cent to USD 3,097.5 per tonne from USD 3,074 per tonne. For December 27 contracts, the bid price advanced by 0.33 per cent to USD 2,997 per tonne on November 5 from USD 2,987 per tonne...
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Washington has recently started a probe into aluminium imports from the world's top producer of the metal on national security grounds and the US Department of Commerce held a public hearing on June 22 on the Section 232 Investigation into the impact of aluminium imports on US national security. The country is also conducting a separate investigation into steel. The rarely used section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 allows restrictions on imports for reasons of national security. China's Commerce Ministry has expressed their concern over this development during the 100-day trade talk period. The “100-day trade talks” was the result of a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Mar-a-Lago, Florida in April, which proved far more cordial than...
The Aluminum Association, in cooperation with the Aluminium Association of Canada, reported primary aluminum production in North America (U.S. and Canada) was at an annual rate of 3,950,536 tonnes during May 2017. On a month on month comparison, the rate is down 0.4% from the April 2017 rate of 3,965,567 tonnes. On a YoY comparison, North American annual production rate slightly dropped from May 2016. The production rate in the U.S. increased 2.9% MoM, while the Canadian rate was off 1.1% indicating the consistent production rate in Canada. Actual production through the first five months of 2017 stood at 1,640,433 tonnes, down 3.8% from a year ago. On a positive note, secondary recovery and production in the US is on a rising track in the first quarter of 2017 sequentially and on a...
LME aluminium is gaining strength. The light metal which has been struggling around US$1,860 per tonne since last 14 days finally seems to be retracing US$1,900 per tonne. Rising by 0.58 per cent from its previous close of US$1,886 per tonne on June 28, LME aluminium settled at US$1,897 per tonne on Thursday, June 29. Shanghai Metals Market foresees that LME aluminium will rise to US$1,904-1,916 per tonne on Friday, June 30. However, the contract is likely to struggle at its 20-day and 10-day moving averages in the short term. As on June 29, LME official cash buyer aluminium price stands at US$1,897 per tonne, cash seller & settlement aluminium price is US$1,897.50 per tonne, 3M buyer price is US$1,901 per tonne, 3M seller price is US$1,901.50 per tonne, Dec1 buyer price is US$1,935 per...
According to a notice issued by the National Development & Reform Commission (NDRC) and National Energy Administration (NEA) and published by Shanghai Metals Market, the Chinese Authorities are set to inspect Coal-fired captive power plants at aluminium smelters in six major aluminium producing provinces in China. The six aluminium producing provinces will be inspected before the end of June, as reported. The six provinces include Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Guangxi, Jiangsu and Shandong. According to a source, three producers in each of these six provinces will be scrutinized. The authorities will examine the following three aspects which include: 1. Basic conditions of coal-fired captive power plants, i.e. number of power plants, whether power plants comply with rules and...
Putting all speculations to rest the government of India said yesterday, June 28, that it is not considering privatising National Aluminium Company Limited (Nalco); rather, it is facilitating the PSU with its INR 5,540 crore worth expansion plan that would make it a leading aluminium producer of the country. In a statement Ministry of Mines said, "It has come to the notice of the government regarding a news item appearing in some section of the Press that Government of India is trying to privatise the National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO) through buyback and offer for sale (OFS). Due to such news items, NALCO is facing agitation by its workers.” "NALCO is a prestigious Navratna Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) and the central government appreciates its role in the progress of...
The prices for A00 Aluminium Ingot for all provinces in the China markets (North, South, North-East and South-West) have registered a rise for two consecutive days after the last drop on June 27 2017. On June 29 2017, among the domestic markets, the average prices for A00 Aluminium Ingot for North China market have increased from RMB 13,700/ t on June 28 to RMB 13,800/t . A00 Aluminium Ingot at South China market jumped from RMB 13,825 /t on June 28 to RMB 13,860/t on June 29. The price in East China market (Zhejiang) jumped from RMB 13,700 /t on June 28 to RMB 13,805/t on June 29 and for Jiangsu province it increased from RMB 13,705 /t to RMB 13,775/t . For the Northeast China market, the price increased from RMB 13,680 /t on June 28 to RMB 13,770/t today. For the Southwest China market,...
The Chinese government is continuing to push for wide-scale aluminium supply side reform. After China Hongqiao Group, the biggest aluminium producer in China, announced curtailment of its outdated capacity a few days back, it is time now for another aluminium giant Shandong Weiqiao Group to walk the same path. The company, also a subsidiary of China Hongqiao Group , announced that it will cut aluminium capacity by 250,000 tonnes. This decision comes as a huge boost to the government’s aluminium supply side reform initiatives. Unnamed sources say that Weiqiao has already started executing its plans, but there were no official confirmation prior to this. Shanghai Metals Market (SMM) learnt that the aluminium supply reforms will take much longer than it was expected. While on one hand,...
LME aluminium has finally reversed its downtrend- but will this uptick extend into a sustained uptrend? Unlikely- suggests technical analysis by market experts. The lightmetal which had touched the monthly low of US$1,855 per tonne earlier this week rose to US$1,886 per tonne after night trading on Wednesday, June 29, up 1.34 per cent from its previous close of US$1,861.50 per tonne. Shanghai Metals Market observes that LME aluminium will struggle between the 20-day and 10-day moving averages and range at US$1,889-1,904 per tonne on Thursday, June 29. Reuters’ technical analysis suggests that LME aluminium may retrace to as low as US$1,756 per tonne over the next three months. As on June 28, LME official cash buyer aluminium price stands at US$1,885.50 per tonne, cash seller & settlement...
Russian news agency Interfax reported that the country’s energy ministry on Tuesday June 27 said that the Rusal smelters at Novokuznetsk, Khakass, Sayanogorsk, Bratsk, Irkutsk, Krasnoyarsk had lost power due to power outages at the Boguchansk HPP and Berezovskaya power plants. However, UC RUSAL announced through a press release that all production facilities that have been impacted by certain power disruptions in Siberia are operating normally. The statement confirms that the company has successfully handled the power disruptions in the 500kV transmission lines in Siberia on June 27, which however, resulted in the temporary loss of power at RUSAL’s smelters. According to the company statement, all potlines in the smelters are now operating normally and their team has been able to avoid...
After a four-day falling streak, LME aluminium regained some lost strength and edged higher to US$1,861.50 per tonne on Tuesday, June 27, up from the monthly low of US$1,855 per tonne on Monday, June 26. Oil prices surged two per cent and US dollar index dropped sharply lending some support to the light metal traded globally. Shanghai Metals Market observes that LME aluminium may inch further up but will continue to struggle between the 10-day and 20-day moving averages. Aluminium prices on the bourse will range US$1,877-US$1,891 per tonne on Wednesday, June 28. As on June 27, LME official cash buyer aluminium price stands at US$1,861 per tonne, cash seller & settlement aluminium price is US$1,861.50 per tonne, 3M buyer price is US$1,871 per tonne, 3M seller price is US$1,872 per tonne,...
According to a latest Reuters update, Japan's Q3 aluminium premium has dropped to $118-119/t. July –September premiums have registered a drop first time in 3 quarters. Producers have initially proposed $123-128/t. Now, with the drop in premium, Japanese aluminium buyers will pay up to 8% less in July to September quarter. The news came from five sources directly involved in quarterly pricing analysis. The latest drop in quarterly premiums follows two quarters of rising premiums, up 35% in Q2 and up 27% in Q1. "We have settled the deals at $118 and $119 a tonne with all of the producers whom we buy the metal from," a source at an end-user said. He declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the talks. Another fabricator quoted $118 a tonne as the settled premium for all deals while...
Vedanta Resources, the world’s leading diversified natural resources company with aluminium operations in India, said that its big dream for the country has only just begun. With a market capitalisation of US$14 billion, the group is setting out to invest US$6-7 billion in expanding its overall capacity by 2021. Expressing optimism about India’s future and the government’s thrust on natural resources, Vedanta Resources chairman Anil Agarwal said, "Our dream has just begun. Faring very well financially during the last fiscal, we are looking for at least 60 per cent capacity addition in our businesses in three to four years." "For expanding capacity by 60 per across segments, on a pro-rata basis we will be spending about $6-7 billion," Agarwal said. He sounded hopeful about Indian...
The prices of A00 Aluminium Ingot fell across major China markets on Tuesday, June 27, following the slump in LME aluminium prices. Average price drop was recorded at around 0.7 per cent. The highest average price stood at RMB 13,725 per tonne in South China Market. For the revised price details, please see the below table: Unit: RMB per tonne The average price of A00 Aluminium Ingot in North China market has plunged from RMB 13,710 per tonne on June 26 2017 to RMB 13,625 per tonne on June 27. A00 Aluminium Ingot price in South China market has dropped from RMB 13,830 per tonne on June 26 to RMB 13,725 per tonne on June 27. The average price of A00 aluminium ingot in East China market (Zhejiang) currently stands at RMB 13,595 per tonne and in Jiangsu province, at RMB 13,590 per tonne. In...
LME aluminium is continuing its slide under negative market fundamentals. Crude oil prices are falling globally. Unable to draw support from the key commodity factor, the light metal dived to US$1,855 per tonne after night trading on Monday, June 26, down from US$1,868 per tonne last Friday, June 23. Shanghai Metals Market (SMM) forecasts that LME aluminium will range at the lows of US$1,855-1,873 per tonne on Tuesday, June 27. As on June 26, LME official cash buyer aluminium price stands at US$1,854 per tonne, cash seller & settlement aluminium price is US$1,855 per tonne, 3M buyer price is US$1,875 per tonne, 3M seller price is US$1,862 per tonne, Dec1 buyer price is US$1,897 per tonne, and Dec1 seller price is US$1,902 per tonne. The current LME official Opening Stock of aluminium is...
Oleg Mukhamedshin, deputy chief executive of Rusal has said to media that Rusal, the world’s second-largest aluminium producer, will stick to its target of converting all of its electricity sources to clean energy or hydropower by 2020. It is noteworthy that President Donald Trump early this month announced the U.S.’s withdrawal from the Paris agreement on climate change mitigation. This was a part of Trump’s “America First” policy, but the country remained open to negotiate for “a better deal.” The Russian firm is also considering more investment in the R&D of new light weight alloys to withstand China’s excess supply of low-end primary aluminium product which continues to put downward pressure on prices and affects profitability of global aluminium producers. Commenting on their clean...
Major Indian aluminium producers National Aluminium Company Limited (Nalco), Hindalco, and Vedanta Aluminium have come forward to jointly protest against the massive power duty hike in Odisha, reported global news agencies Platts and Aluminium Insider. In a petition to the Government of Odisha the companies sought revocation of the hike, which they claim would be detrimental to their aluminium smelting operations in the state as production costs spiral up. In more than past twelve months, Odisha’s power duty has risen twice, first time by fifty per cent to INR 0.30 per kilo watt, and then in the recent times- by almost double to INR 0.55 per kilo watt. Domestic aluminium producers say this jump in power tariff would translate in an increase in cost of production by US$61.90 per tonne. Dr....
LME aluminium has been largely range bound over the last seven days. The light metal which showed a mild uptrend on Thursday (June 22), last week, settled at US$1,868 per tonne after night trading on Friday, June 23. Shanghai Metals Market (SMM) observes that LME aluminium will keep swinging widely at the lows. The aluminium prices will range between US$1,862-1,877 per tonne on Monday, June 26. As on June 23, LME official cash buyer aluminium price stands at US$1,867 per tonne, cash seller & settlement aluminium price is US$1,868 per tonne, 3M buyer price is US$1,875 per tonne, 3M seller price is US$1,875 per tonne, Dec1 buyer price is US$1,908 per tonne, and Dec1 seller price is US$1,913 per tonne. The current LME official Opening Stock of aluminium is estimated at 1429525 tonnes, total...
The China Non-Ferrous Metals Industry Association (CNIA) has recently released data covering China’s aluminium industry chain for H1 2017 as well as forecast for aluminium production and consumption by 2020. West China’s 11 provinces produced 9.21 million tonnes of primary aluminium in H1 2017. The total productions are of nearly 60 per cent of national total. The Shandong province was the top producer of primary aluminium in H1 2017. The Shandong province‘s production was up 12.1 per cent year-on-year to 3.94 million tonnes, over 25 per cent of national total. As of the end of May, China’s aluminium capacity stood at 41.02 million tonnes. At present, 38 million tonnes of aluminium capacity are in operation, and over 7 million tonnes are under construction. CNIA expects China’s aluminium...
