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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According to Shanghai Metals Market, primary aluminium inventories across major consumption areas in China continued to decline over the weekend ended on August 20, 2018. Stocks, including SHFE warrants, shrank around 20,000 tonnes from last Thursday, August 16, to stand at 1.74 million tonnes. The fall could be attributed to the limited arrivals to all the warehouses and steady downstream purchases. Hence, it indicates that there has been a balance maintained between supply and consumption over the weekend in the market. Compared to last Thursday, inventory in Wuxi and Jiangsu dropped 9000 tonnes to stand at 739,000 tonnes today, while Nanhai and Guangdong, and Gongyi and Henan recorded fall by 3000 tonnes and 8000 tonnes to stand at 237,000 tonnes and 148,000, respectively. For more...
Russia’s sanctions-hit aluminium giant Rusal (0486.HK) declared on Friday, August 17, that its board had approved a change of domicile from Britain’s Jersey to Russia for taking some advantage of new special tax regulations. The announcement arrived a day after Russian energy-related company En+ Group announced that it was considering re-domiciling to one of Russia’s new offshore zones. However, Rusal’s decision to change domicile can only come off if shareholders also give consent to it. Russia has created two special administrative regions where companies enjoy benefits such as a zero tax on profits received by way of dividends - an arrangement similar to foreign offshore tax havens. The company said its board member had decided to change the domicile because they thought that it could...
Mecfor unveiled one of its most innovative projects to date, the first automated guided vehicle for aluminium smelters on August 16 in Quebec. The AGV designed and manufactured in North America, will serve the global primary aluminium industry. Based in Saguenay, Quebec, Mecfor specializes in equipment design and manufacture for the global aluminium, mining and metals, and rail industries. The vehicle is able to manoeuvre itself automatically with the help of artificial intelligence. The ability to move automatically within a smelter that has strong magnetic fields, dust, wide temperature variations and constant interactions with workers and other equipment, was a challenge that has been handled successfully by the team. “With this technological investment, Mecfor is positioning itself...
The US dollar index came off from a 13.5-month high and closed at 96.57 on Thursday, while the Chinese Yuan recovered from its weakest level since January 2017. Most of the base metals rose across the board overnight on Thursday after closing lower for two days. LME aluminium closed the day’s trading at US$ 1998 per tonne yesterday, slightly higher than the last closing. LME aluminium reversed all early losses to a high of US$2,056 per tonne before it edged down and closed at US$2,038 per tonne on Thursday night. Shanghai Metals Market expects it to test the five-, 10- and 20-day moving averages today with a trading range of US$2,020-2,070 per tonne. As on August 16, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stands at US$ 1997per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 1998 per tonne;...
Spot aluminium trading in east China spurred a bit on Thursday, August 16, than the previous day as drops in SHFE aluminium prices generated some purchases from downstream consumers, found Shanghai Metals Market. The SHFE September contract traded range-bound at RMB 14380 per tonne to RMB 14390 per tonne in the morning after it fell overnight. In Shanghai and Wuxi, most transactions were seen at RMB 14330 per tonne RMB 14350 per tonne, while in Hangzhou, trading activities were heard at RMB 14340 per tonne to RMB 14350 per tonne. Transactions in Linyi and Gongyi, on the other hand, were heard at RMB 14300 per tonne with discounts of RMB 50-30 per tonne and at RMB 14370 per tonne with discounts of RMB 70 per tonne, respectively. SMM believes the recent movement of the US dollar could be a...
The ongoing coal shortage has begun affecting other segments besides power plants and the railways. The ongoing coal shortage has begun affecting other segments besides power plants and the railways, with the Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI) stating on Wednesday that aluminium makers are seeing an adverse impact on their refinery and smelting operations. The reason, FIMI Secretary General R K Sharma said, is that these manufacturers are unable to run their captive power plants due to the coal shortage. The low availability of railway rakes is exacerbating the issue, he added. According to FIMI, coal is usually allotted to primary aluminium smelters by Coal India Ltd (CIL) or its subsidiary through linkages by way of FSAs (fuel supply agreement). “However, both aluminium...
According to the latest update by Shanghai Metals Market, primary aluminium inventories across major consumption areas in China has recorded a further fall this week with limited arrivals. Stocks across eight consumption areas, including SHFE warrants, shrank around 14000 tonnes from last Thursday, August 9, and 5000 tonnes from last Monday, August 13, to stand at 1.761 million tonnes as of August 16. The current inventory status in the major Chinese cities stands as follows: But despite the limited supplies of primary aluminium stocks in the market, the A00 aluminium ingot price failed to record a surge. As of August 16, the price has clocked a drop of RMB 160 per tonne to stand at RMB 14330 per tonne, in contrast to RMB 14490 per tonne on August 15. The average prices are expected to...
The US dollar index closed at 96.71 overnight after rising to over 96.98 earlier, the highest since June 2017 as investors added their holdings of the greenback on worries over slowing Chinese growth and Europe's exposure to Turkey. The Chinese yuan fell past 6.95 per dollar in overnight offshore trading. LME aluminium continued downward trend and closed the day’s trading at US$ 1994.5 per tonne, the level last seen in April 2018, before the sanctions against Rusal. After that it recovered slightly and touched a three-week low at US$2,007 per tonne and closed at US$2,022 per tonne at Wednesday night. The contract is likely to trade at US$2,000-2,040 per tonne today amid bearish sentiment. As on August 15, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stands at US$ 1993.50 per tonne, LME official...
Century Aluminum plant in Goose Creek, South Carolina has resumed hiring after President Trump imposed tariffs on foreign aluminium imports, though it is operating at 50% capacity. Century president and CEO Mike Bless is of the view that the tariffs are having their intended effect on domestic industry. Century aluminium reported a 21 per cent increase in sales for the second quarter. Full-year production is expected to be up more than 60 per cent over 2017. However, they will continue operating at 50% capacity till next year. Century is hiring staff despite the ongoing dispute with the state-owned utility Santee Cooper over electricity cost. Bless points out electricity accounts for 40 per cent of aluminium’s cost of production. The laid off 300 of its 600 employees in 2016. Bless says...
The US dollar index hit the highest level since June last year at 96.794 on Tuesday. LME aluminium continued downward trend and closed the day’s trading at US$2038 on Tuesday. It recovered most of its early losses and closed at US$2,069.5 per tonne after touching the low of US$2,045 per tonne. It is likely to trade at US$2,050-2,080 per tonne today under the pressure from a strong dollar. As on August 14, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stands at US$ 2037.50 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 2038 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 2063 per tonne, 3-months offer price is US$ 2063 per tonne; Dec 19 bid price stands at US$ 2100 per tonne, and Dec 19 offer price stands at US$ 2105 per tonne. The LME aluminium opening stock dropped to 1135925 tonnes. Live Warrants...
Amid increasing raw material prices and dipped primary aluminium social inventory in China, A00 aluminium ingot price has been on a rising trend since the beginning of August, except a few intermittent drops. According to the latest update from Shanghai Metals Market, the ingot price has again plunged today, on August 15, after about a week later to stand at RMB 14490 per tonne, in contrast to a hike on the previous day from RMB 14500 per tonne, as on 13 th of August, to RMB 14530 per tonne. The average prices as on today are expected to range between RMB 14470 per tonne and RMB 14510 per tonne, with spot discounts to settle narrow at RMB 20 per tonne. The primary aluminium price on Shanghai Metals Exchange could not escape from the plunge either. Today, it stands at US$ 2097 per tonne...
State-owned aluminium major National Aluminium Company (Nalco) has intimidated that it is making all efforts to procure more materials from mid-sized, small or micro enterprises. Reportedly, the procurement will expand from the current level of INR 400 crore to INR 1200 crore in the coming time. Nalco chairman Dr. Tapan Kumar Chand said this is the right time for MSMEs to grow and shine bright. He further said India had been emerging as the youngest nation with 64 per cent of population in working group. If this demographic dividend could be properly cultivated, it would increase GDP by 2 per cent, taking it to double digits. This could be possible only if the huge workforce was provided productive employment. Speaking about the upcoming Angul Aluminium Park, Chand responded that there...
At AlCircle, innovation and information is the key to excel! Having created a niche of its own as a one of a kind Information and business portal for the complete global value-chain of aluminium; AlCircle has now launched a range of services under the umbrella of an Exclusive Membership Plan . Customizable and tailor made for the aluminium industry participants, both from the large scale enterprises as well as the SME sector and the R&D sector, the membership plan will make availing its services easier and clutter-free for its users. There is a big market for information and it is growing manifold every day. Getting the right kind of information for your business at the right time is one of the prime criteria in running a business successfully. Next stage is to get that correct and...
In less than five months, the Trump administration has collected more than $1.4 billion in new revenue from steel and aluminum tariffs, according to a recent report prepared for members of Congress. The Congressional Research Service estimated that, between March 23 and July 16, the U.S. reaped $1.1 billion and $344.2 million from levies on foreign steel and aluminum, respectively. Those earnings are on the rise as trade negotiations with allies linger on and President Donald Trump moves to hike tariff rates on countries like Turkey. CRS says the new tariffs could reap the U.S. some $7.5 billion — $5.8 billion on steel and $1.7 billion on aluminum – based on last year's import levels. In 2017, the U.S. imported $29 billion worth of steel products covered the tariffs and $17.4 billion...
The US dollar index notched a fresh 14-month high at 96.52 before it closed at 96.27 overnight as Turkey’s economic woes continued. LME aluminium hovered within a range of US$25 for most of the day and closed the day’s trading at US$ 2052 per tonne yesterday August 13. The metal rebounded from a low of US$2,070 per tonne and closed at US$2,080 per tonne on Monday night. Shanghai Metals Market expects it to continue the range bound pattern today with a trading range of US$2,060-2,100 per tonne. As on August 13, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stands at US$ 2051per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 2052 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 2076 per tonne, 3-months offer price is US$ 2077 per tonne; Dec 19 bid price stands at US$ 2113 per tonne, and Dec 19 offer price...
Followed by controlled production at aluminium fluoride manufacturers in mid-June, the fluoride prices in China have been reportedly clocking a steady trend since the beginning of the month, Shanghai Metals Market found. Major fluorochemical enterprises were heard to have convened in mid-June in Hengshan, Hunan province and agreed to operate in a staggered pattern to support aluminium fluoride prices at RMB 9000 per tonne ex-work level. These producers suspended production in every alternate month and kept only half of the overall capacities in operation. Aluminium fluoride prices began to rebound soon after these production curbs came into effect. Some offers were even seen at over RMB 10000 per tonne due to limited supply in the market, in contrast to RMB 8500 per tonne in early June....
Hindalco reported Q1 FY19 results for Utkal Alumina, Hindalco standalone, as well as Aluminium Business. Though alumina production was marginally lower due to planned maintenance shutdown in one of the refineries, Hindalco reported an EBITDA of INR 1,531 crore (US$ 220 million) and a margin at 27 per cent, highest in the last 28 quarters, for Hindalco Aluminium Business including Utkal Alumina. EBITDA was up 35 per cent compared to INR 1,132 crore in Q1 FY18. The results also lifted the EBITDA for Hindalco standalone plus Utkal Alumina to INR1,951 crore, highest ever quarterly results for the group. Hindalco’s aluminium revenue for Q1 FY19 stood at INR 5,667 crore. This increase was on account of better sales realisations and stable plant operations. The company achieved steady aluminium...
According to an update from Shanghai Metals Market, SHFE 1810 contract fell and closed at RMB 14,685 per tonne today as some longs covered their positions and the contract is expected to face resistance at RMB 14,850 per tonne. Average A00 ingot prices stand at RMB 14,500 per tonne today, up about 0.07 % from Friday. Prices in the individual spot markets also started the week with a rise. Spot discounts have narrowed and are now ranging at RMB 50-10 per tonne. China's inventory of primary aluminium across eight major consumer markets, including SHFE warrants, lost 9,000 tonne from Thursday August 9 to stand at 1.766 million tonne as on Monday August 13, SMM data showed. Though downstream consumption was low, the inventory fell over the weekend as deliveries from the northwest smelters...
