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 found Weiqiao Group planned to cut its pre-baked anode purchasing price by RMB 150 per tonne for August. But domestic producers on Wednesday, July 25, opposed the decision because of the industry’s loss since the past two months. SMM expects company to adjust its cut to RMB 0-50 per tonne from July level, which is why the final purchasing price is still under negotiations. As of July 2, Weiqiao Group lowered the prices for seven straight months on the face of oversupply in the market. The price for this month now stands at RMB 3100 per tonne in cash and RMB 3135 on acceptance, RMB 100 per tonne down from June. As far as the pre-baked anode average spot price is concerned, it has been hovering at RMB 3135 per tonne since 3 rd of July, after dropping from RMB 3235 per...
The US dollar dipped to around 94, and closed at 94.19. Base metals were under pressure from ongoing worries over a trade war even though the EU and US declared a ceasefire. LME aluminium fell 0.7% from Tuesday to close at US$ 2056.50 per tonne. The contract jumped after opening overnight, to a high of US$2,087.5 per tonne as the greenback weakened and closed at $2,064 per tonne in the morning. Inventory across LME warehouses fell 2,900 tonnes to 1,209,225 tonnes after several days of increase. Shanghai Metals Market expects LME aluminium to trade at US$2,066-2,086 per tonne. As on July 25, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stands at US$ 2056 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 2056.50 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 2073 per tonne, 3-months offer price is US$...
A report by VK Saraswat, NITI Aayog member, and Aniruddha Ghosh, a Delhi-based economist suggests that the Centre must actively consider recognizing the aluminium sector as India’s ninth core industry. The sector contributes to 2% of manufacturing GDP and creates about 8 lakh direct and indirect jobs. Currently, India lists coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, steel, cement and electricity as the eight core industries. The report says that Indian aluminium facilities are generally based in the remote and underdeveloped areas of the country and they help in generating peripheral employment, infrastructural and economic development of the surrounding areas. “Therefore, we recommend into looking actively into the possibility of classifying aluminium as a core...
The US dollar index fell 0.05% to close at 94.58 with pressure from a stronger euro, which was buoyed by robust German economic data. LME base metals rose across the board overnight. After closing yesterday’s trading lower at US$ 2082 per tonne, LME aluminium rallied twice, and hit a high of US$2,114 per tonne as the US dollar weakened during night trading. LME inventory increased 2,850 tonnes to 1,212,125 tonnes overnight. As the probability for the US to lift its sanction against Rusal increases, LME inventory is likely to pile up further in the near term as the panic buying has saturated . The contract will feel pressure at the US$2,100 tonne level, and the contract is expected to trade at US$2,065-2,100 per tonne today. As on July 24, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stands at US$ 2080...
According to the latest update by Shanghai Metals Market, larger aluminium spot discounts have resulted in narrow trading activities in the east China spot aluminium market as sellers there showed slight reluctance in offloading cargoes on Tuesday, July 24. Yesterday, spot discounts in the east were mostly seen at RMB 90 per tonne to RMB 80 per tonne against the SHFE August contract, compared to the spot discounts of RMB 80 per tonne to RMB 60 per tonne in the previous day. Trading in the east remained thin as traders and downstream consumers adopted a wait-and-watch stance. Most transactions in Shanghai and Wuxi were done at RMB 14110 per tonne to RMB 14230 per tonne; while in Hangzhou, transactions were at RMB 14120 per tonne to RMB 14140 per tonne. Traders in the south were also...
Hydro in its latest report has unveiled results of the second quarter of 2018, covering each product like bauxite, alumina, primary aluminium, and downstream exclusively. In one of our previous news, we have already discussed the results of bauxite and alumina production. Now, coming to primary aluminium, Hydro’s underlying EBIT shrank from NOK 823 in Q1 2018 to NOK 755 in Q2 2018, registering a decline of 8 per cent and 49 per cent from NOK 1486 in Q2 2017. The EBIT for H1 of the present calendar year also dropped to NOK 1578, compared to NOK 2386 in the contemporary period last year. The drop in EBIT was primarily due to higher raw material and fixed costs and negative currency effects, partly offset by higher all-in metal prices. According to Hydro President and CEO Svein Richard...
Alba’s top-line and bottom-line for the second quarter and first-half of 2018 were primarily driven by higher sales volume, higher LME prices (an increase of 18% Year-over-Year (YoY)) and the impact of Line 5 recovery in Q2 2017. The Company generated a Net Income of BD 29.1 million (US$ 77.4 million) in the second quarter of 2018 versus BD 17.7 million (US$ 46.9 million) for the same period in 2017, up by 65% YoY. With regards to Total Sales/Revenues, Alba reported BD 244.0 million (US$ 648.9 million) in Q2 2018, up by 36% YoY, compared to BD 179.3 million (US$ 476.9 million) in Q2 2017. Earnings per share (EPS) in this quarter were fils 21 versus fils 12 in Q2 2017. With regards to the first half of 2018, Alba’s Net Income stood at BD 63.0 million (US$ 167.5 million), an increase of 46%...
The US dollar climbed up steadily and closed at 94.62 last night. Most base metals fell for the most part with pressure from a strengthened US dollar. The LME aluminium contract closed at US$2130 per tonne on Monday July 23, up from the last closing. The contract tested pressure at the 20-day moving average and touched a high of US$2,081 per tonne overnight, given the prospect of sanctions against Rusal being lifted. It is likely to trade at US$2,050-2,080 per tonne today. As on July 23, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stands at US$ 2128 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 2130 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$ 2120 per tonne, and Dec 19 offer price stands at US$ 2125 per...
After a fall on last Friday, April 20, A00 aluminium ingot price recorded a rise in two consecutive days this week. On April 23, the price increased right from RMB 13910 per tonne to RMB 14070 per tonne, followed by a further hike to RMB 14120 per tonne today, April 24, Shanghai Metals Market found. The average price is expected to range between RMB 14100 per tonne and RMB 14140 per tonne, with spot discounts to settle at RMB 100 per tonne to RMB 60 per tonne. In the east China, the ingot price today also recorded at RMB 14120 per tonne, after rising from RMB 14070 per tonne as on April 23. In South and North, on the other hand, the ingot price grew from RMB 14205 per tonne to RMB 14245 per tonne and from RMB 14050 per tonne to RMB 14110 per tonne, respectively. This rise in primary...
As aluminium prices surged driven by its LME counterpart, downstream consumers in the east and south China spot aluminium markets held back from purchasing on Monday July 23, Shanghai Metal Market said. This accounted for sluggish trades across the regions. The average A00 aluminium ingot price in China stands at RMB 14070 per tonne, RMB 160 up per tonne from last Friday’s price. the below table shows average aluminium prices across different markets. Both the SHFE 1808 and SHFE 1809 contract jumped in the morning. Spot transactions in Shanghai, Wuxi and Hangzhou were mostly heard at RMB 14,060-14,080 per tonne with discounts of 80-60 per tonne against the SHFE 1808 contract. The SHFE 1809 contract was pushed up by its LME counterpart to a high of RMB 14,140 per tonne. It closed at RMB...
The US Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Friday that Rusal is likely to be taken off the US list of sanctioned entities if acceptable solutions can be found. The LME aluminium contract closed the day’s trading at US$2075 per tonne. The contract then broke pressure at the five-day moving average and surged to a high of US$2,047 per tonne overnight on Friday as the US dollar fell. It closed at US$2,042.5 per tonne with LME inventory reaching 1,208,400 per tonne. Shanghai Metals Market expects LME aluminium to trade at US$2,030-2,055 per tonne today. As on July 20, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stands at US$ 2074.50 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 2075 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 2029 per tonne, 3-months offer price is US$ 2031 per tonne; Dec...
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in an interview with Reuters in São Paulo that they are open to lift aluminium producer Rusal’s name from the U.S. sanctions list. The comment came ahead of G20 finance meetings this weekend in Argentina. Mnuchin's comment was the latest indication the Trump administration is in favour of helping the sanctions-hit Rusal. The company has been constantly negotiating and taking series of corrective steps to get the restrictions lifted. The sanctions by the U.S. Treasury against billionaire Oleg Deripaska in April and the eight companies in which he is a large shareholder temporarily disrupted the supply chain of the global aluminium market, as it barred companies to buy metal from Rusal. Several countries and companies have appealed the Us treasury...
A new of round of talks between the United States and India late last month has resulted in a decision that the Trump administration will hand over a “problem-list” to India assembling all the trade issues between the two countries. This will be done next week in the hope to iron out differences over the bilateral trade that caused continued tit-for-tat actions over the past few months. An Indian official reported to the Economic Times, “All issues were discussed. They were talking of general things, we wanted specific. They will send us a text of what they want, in the next week or ten days.” The meet was taken place in Delhi when senior officials from the US Trade Representatives had paid a visit to Indian officials. The key topics in the meeting were America’s higher tariffs on...
With the growing primary aluminium social inventories in China, spot market traders in the east stood on the sidelines yesterday, July 19, in anticipation of larger spot discounts, Shanghai Metals Market found. The SHFE 1808 contract came off from its initial increase and traded range-bound within a narrow range in the morning. Transactions in Shanghai remained thin at RMB 13940 per tonne to RMB 13960 per tonne with discounts of RMB 70 per tonne to RMB 60 per tonne against the SHFE 1808 contract. Transactions in Wuxi were also heard at RMB 13940 per tonne to RMB 13960 per tonne, while that in Hangzhou were seen at RMB 13950 per tonne to RMB 13970 per tonne. Transactions in south China turned out no better as sellers held their offers firm. In Guangdong, transactions were done at RMB 14040...
The US dollar index fell from one year's high and closed at 95.09, slightly up from Wednesday. Base metals dipped across the board on ongoing trade conflicts between China and the US. After diving down the day before, LME aluminium contract closed a little higher at US$ 2062 per tonne yesterday. The contract tested support at US$2,000 per tonne twice and touched a low of US$2,001.5 per tonne while base metals weakened across the board. It closed at US$2,006 per tonne last night. With LME inventory up 5,100 tonnes to 1,203,975 million tonne, Shanghai Metals Market expects it to test support again at the US$2,000 per tonne level, and trade at US$1,990-2,020 per tonne over the day. As on July 19, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stands at US$ 2060 per tonne, LME official settlement price...
Alcoa Corporation, a global leader in bauxite, alumina, and aluminium products, reported Q2 2018 results that were favourably impacted by strong pricing for both alumina and aluminium. “Market pricing continued to be favourable in the second quarter and drove a 38 per cent sequential increase in adjusted EBITDA excluding special items,” said Alcoa President and Chief Executive Officer Roy Harvey. “While markets and trade dynamics are likely to remain fluid, we will continue to be focused on driving value for our stockholders through all market cycles,” he added. In Q2 2018, Alcoa reported net income of US$75 million, compared to US$150 million in Q1 2018. The second quarter results include a negative impact of $211 million for special items related to cash and non-cash settlements....
Norwegian aluminium company Norsk Hydro ASA's wholly-owned subsidiary Hydro Energi AS has signed a long-term wind power contract for 29 years with Green Investment Group. The contract is believed to be the world's longest corporate wind power contract. The agreement, which encompass building of a new wind farm near Sundsvall and Østersund in Sweden (SE2), secures annual baseload supply of 0.3 TWh for the period 2021 to 2031 and 0.55 TWh for the period from 2031 to 2050. The contract will contribute to supplying power to Hydro's aluminium plants in Norway. "With this contract, we have over the last 2.5 years secured wind power contracts of approximately 4.5 terawatt hours annually from 2021 and onwards, complementing our captive and contract-based hydropower supplies," says Executive Vice...
The US dollar index inched down from a three-week high but still stood above the 95 level and closed at 95.09. Base metals mostly consolidated at low levels. As longs exited at highs, LME aluminium dived to a low of US$2,022 per tonne during the European trading session after touching US$2,045 per tonne. The contract closed Wednesday’s trading at US$2,040 per tonne, lower than the last closing of US$ 2110 per tonne. Open interests dipped 41,670 lots to 615,804 lots, while inventory rose 23,800 tonnes to close to 1.2 million tonnes. Shanghai Metals Market expects it to consolidate at US$2,020-2,050 per tonne today. As on July 18, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stands at US$ 2038per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 2040 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 2023 per...
