According to SMM statistics, changes in aluminium ingot and aluminium billet (collectively referred to as aluminium inventory) inventories at major consumption areas in China around the National Day holiday from 2020 to 2026 show overall destocking before the holiday, with the most concentrated inventory buildup during the holiday, followed by a pullback after the holiday. During the one-week National Day holiday period (September 30 to October 8) from 2020 to 2025, aluminium ingot, aluminium billet, and total aluminium inventories all accumulated, with aluminium ingot increases of 4-17.3 per cent, aluminium billet increases of 12.7-66 per cent, and total aluminium inventory increases of 6.9-21.2 per cent, with the aluminium billet buildup significantly larger than that of aluminium...
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...
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LME aluminium is sliding down the price graph. The light metal contract which closed at US$2,111 per tonne on Tuesday, October 17, dropped to close at US$2,106 per tonne after night trading on Wednesday, October 18. Reuters’ technical analysis suggests that LME aluminium may break a support at US$2,117 per tonne, and approach the next support level at US$2,103. A break below US$2,103 could cause a further loss to US$2,086 per tonne, while a break above US$2,130 may lead to a gain to US$2,148 per tonne in the near term. As per Shanghai Metals Market forecast, LME aluminium will drop to US$2,105-2,130 per tonne on Thursday, October 19. Source: www.lme.com As on October 18, LME official cash buyer aluminium price (Bid Price) stands at US$2,106 per tonne, cash seller & settlement aluminium...
The global mining giant Rio Tinto Group is mulling sales of its aluminium operations in Australia and New Zealand, reported the Financial Times. The sale of assets includes Pacific Aluminium and a power station at Gladstone, for which the group is in talks with Sanjeev Gupta owned Gupta Family Group Alliance. According to the report, Gupta is flying to Australia to discuss the deal and inspect the power station. Rio’s Pacific Aluminium smelters employ over 2,000 individuals, and registered a total net income of US$92 million in H1 FY 2017-18, a year-on-year jump from last year’s H1 net of US$29 million. Apart from GFG, Century Aluminium of the United States has also been showing interest in the smelters. Glencore Plc, who happens to own a 47 per cent interest in Century, is also rumoured...
LME aluminium dropped from its current highs as September U.S. Dollar index futures rallied on Monday, October 16 after a key Federal Reserve Index of business conditions rose to a three-year high. The light metal contract closed at US$2,111 per tonne after night trading yesterday, down from US$2,144 per tonne on Monday. As predicted earlier, it broke below a support level at US$2,130 per tonne, which caused the loss. Shanghai Metals Market predicts that LME aluminium will regain some strength due to falling inventories and move within the range ofUS$2,140-2,155 per tonne on Wednesday, October 18. As on October 17, LME official cash buyer aluminium price (Bid Price) stands at US$2,110.50 per tonne, cash seller & settlement aluminium price (Offer price) is US$2,111 per tonne, 3M Bid Price...
Rio Tinto released the production results of alumina and aluminium for the quarter third quarter of 2017. The company’s aluminium production dropped due to production curtailment at the Boyne smelter and lower production at the Sohar smelter. The quarterly aluminium production was three per cent lower than the third quarter of last year. Rio Tinto produced 887,000 tonnes of aluminium. In the first nine months of 2017, the company produced 2.6 million tonnes of aluminium. The company’s share of production in 2017 is unchanged at 3.5 to 3.7 million tonnes of aluminium. “Strong operational performances were achieved across most sites, reflecting process improvements that have been embedded throughout the business.” “This was offset by production curtailment at the Boyne smelter due to higher...
The average price for A00 aluminium ingot drops to RMB 16,050/tonne today after a substantial rise on October 13. A00 Aluminium Ingot in spot China market is trading at discounts of RMB 200 - 160/t. A00 aluminium ingot prices across all markets have dropped substantially. Today’s aluminium A00 Aluminum prices across the various markets in China are presented in the table below: Shanghai Metals Market Statistics shows that average spot alumina prices in China remains unchanged on October 17 at RMB 3694/t. On October 17, Chalco alumina price has increased further to RMB3690/tonne from RMB 3650/tonne. Spot alumina prices remain unchanged in all other individual markets in China. According to a Shanghai Metals Market, Henan Province, Binzhou and Zibo city of Shandong Province have introduced...
LME aluminium prices are holding at highs. With the inventories falling by 10,800 tonnes to 1,218,950 tonnes, the light metal contract edged further up to close at US$2,144 per tonne on Monday, October 16 from US$2,140 per tonne last Friday, October 13. Technical analysis and recent price movements suggest that LME aluminium may trade within a wide range of US$2,135-US$2,155 per tonne in the short term. As on October 16, LME official cash buyer aluminium price (Bid Price) stands at US$2,143.50 per tonne, cash seller & settlement aluminium price (Offer price) is US$2,144 per tonne, 3M Bid Price is US$2,159 per tonne, 3M Offer Price is US$2,159.50 per tonne, Dec1 Bid Price is US$2,205 per tonne, and Dec1 Offer Price is US$2,210 per tonne. LME aluminium Opening Stock or the LME aluminium...
Alro S.A., the largest aluminium producer in continental Europe (excluding Russia and the Scandinavian Peninsula), announced that the company will invest $100 million to increase the energy efficiency and specific consumption. The plan is a part of the "Green Factory" program.The "Green Factory" concept will use aims green technologies that will enable Alro to produce high added value aluminium products. Gheorghe Dobra, General Manager of Alro S.A, said, “Now is the time to take the next step, to further reduce the industrial carbon footprint, but at the same time, to continue to increase the production of high and very high added value aluminium and to strengthen our position in sophisticated markets such as aerospace or automotive". The business plan for the period 2017-2021 predicts...
Aluminium stocks at three major ports in Japan declined 2.4 per cent month-on-month to stand at 275,900 tonnes by September end, trading house Marubeni Corp reported on Monday. Marubeni collects stock related data from the ports of Yokohama, Nagoya and Osaka. Aluminium stocks (in tonnes) in the three major ports were as follows: Port Sept 2017 August 2017 Sept 2016 Yokohama 135,200 137,800 138,500 Nagoya 125,700 129,800 133,000 Osaka 15,000 15,000 15,000 Total 275,900 282,600 286,500 September 2017 aluminium stock is down by 3.69 per cent from the corresponding month previous year. The scenario is similar to the LME aluminium inventory levels where the stocks stand at all-time low supporting prices above US$2,125 per tonne. In another update, Reuters reported Japanese aluminium buyers...
LME aluminium is trending high supported by a dipping dollar index, low inventory, strong demand, and positive Chinese economic data. The light metal closed higher at US$2,140 per tonne on Friday, October 13, rising from US$2,117.5 per tonne on Thursday, October 12. Shanghai Metals Market observes that the light metal contract will continue to move within the range of US$2,125-2,155 per tonne on Monday, October 16. Reuters’ technical analysis suggests that LME aluminium may retest a support at US$2,130 per tonne; a break above the level could cause a loss toward the next support level at US$2,117 per tonne in the near term. As on October 13, LME official cash buyer aluminium price (Bid Price) stands at US$2,139 per tonne, cash seller & settlement aluminium price (Offer price) is US$2,140...
Alcoa Corporation, a global leader in bauxite, alumina and aluminum products, today announced that the Company and power provider Luminant Generation Company LLC have terminated the electricity contract tied to Alcoa’s Rockdale Operations in Texas. The smelter at Rockdale has been fully curtailed since the end of 2008. The termination of the contract, which had been set to expire no later than 2038, was effective as of October 1, 2017. While the Company sold surplus electricity since the smelter’s curtailment, Alcoa’s cost of power under the contract exceeded the related revenue. The Company expects an annual improvement to net income and adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) of $60 million to $70 million as a result of the contract termination,...
Global Aluminium & Raw Materials industry dynamics is changing fast with the quick growth of aluminium production in China and Asia. It becomes imperative for the global aluminium industry players to be well apprised of the changes in the market and the supply chain. AlCircle, as one of the leading information providers for the entire aluminium value chain has been tracking the changing trends in the upstream segment. Recently, AlCircle has published a report titled “ Global Aluminium & Raw Material Market with Sectoral Focus on CPC, CTP and Prebaked Anode (2016-17)” backed by well-researched information and solid data analysis. The report promises to provide comprehensive overview of aluminium, CPC, CTP, and prebaked anode sectors. The Special Market Insight from AlCircle brings to you...
According to Shanghai Metals Market, base metals in China finished in the positive territory. Prices in China’s market are expected to hold stable before the upcoming 19th CPC National Congress that is starting on October 18. A00 aluminium ingot prices are up across all major markets after two consecutive falls. The average price of A00 Aluminium Ingot has today increased to stand at RMB 16,250/t, up RMB 190 per tonne from RMB 16,060/t on October 12. The average price would range between RMB 16,230 – 16,270/tonne. A00 Aluminium Ingot in spot China market is trading at discounts of RMB 120 - 80/t. Today’s aluminium A00 Aluminum prices across the various markets in China are presented in the table below: Prices of Aluminium alloy ingot in major Chinese markets have seen a rise today...
Aluminum prices are slowly falling after the last rise on October 9. As the news of winter capacity cut during November-December are fading away positive market sentiments are slowing down too putting pressure on price. After closing at US$2,124 per tonne on Wednesday, October 11, it came down slightly to US$2,117.5 per tonne after night trading on Thursday, October 12. SMM expects LME aluminium to move little up and challenge the 5-day moving average and hover within USD 2,140-2,165/t today. According to a Reuters’ analysis LME aluminium may retest a support at $2,130 per tonne, a break below which could cause a further loss to the next support at $2,117. Analysts further say that resistance is at $2,158/t, and a break above this may lead to a gain to $2,175. A break above $2,175 would...
Aluminum prices are falling back again after a rise on October 9. According to SMM analysis, the fall was driven by the rumour that one aluminium smelter in Shandong was exempted from winter capacity cut during November-December. SMM expects LME aluminium to move within a lower range of USD 2,120-2,150/mt today. According to a Reuters’ analysis LME aluminium may break a support at USD 2,125 per tonne and fall to the next support at $2,103, as suggested by Fibonacci projections. A small double-top forming around $2,174 has also been confirmed by the analysts. As on October 11, LME official cash buyer aluminium price (Bid Price) stands at US$2,123 per tonne, cash seller & settlement aluminium price (Offer price) is US$2,124 per tonne, 3M Bid Price is US$2,146.50 per tonne, 3M Offer Price is...
Minister of the Public Business Sector in Egypt, Asharaf El Sharkawy has asked Egypt Aluminum to expedite the implementation of their development projects. He has further directed the company to complete the necessary feasibility studies of the project and reduce the implementation time of the projects. According to a statement from the Ministry of Public Business Sector on Tuesday, Egypt Aluminum plans to establish a new plant with an annual production capacity of 250,000 tonnes. The Extraordinary General Assembly of Egypt Aluminum has recently approved all the necessary expansion costs of the company. It has increased company’s licensed capital from EGP 1bn to EGP 5bn. Paid up capital has been increased from EGP 550m to EGP 1.1bn to offer cash liquidity. Minister Ashraf El Sharkawy...
After two consecutive price rises in last two days after China market reopened on October 9, A00 Aluminium Ingot prices dropped across all major markets. The average price of A00 Aluminium Ingot dropped to stand at RMB 16,130/t from RMB 16,260/t on October 10. The average price of A00 Aluminium Ingot would range between RMB 16,240 – 16,280/tonne. According to Shanghai Metals Market, spot discounts in east China aluminium market narrowed notably today due to drops in SHFE 1710 aluminium prices and nearing of delivery of SHFE 1710 aluminium. Discounts of RMB 130-110/tonne over SHFE 1710 aluminium were offered in East China market.Trading was down as traders showed low buying interest due to low price and downstream producers completed post-holiday restocking. Mainstream traded prices were...
Strong demand and a low inventory level are buoying LME aluminium prices up but the contract seems to be struggling at the 5-day moving average. After closing at US$2,135 per tonne on Monday, October 9, it came down slightly to US$2,133 per tonne after night trading on Tuesday, October 10. Shanghai Metals Market observes that the light metal contract will continue to lurch higher within the range of US$2,155-2,175 per tonne on Wednesday, October 11, as US dollar dropped in step after Donald Trump disputed with the Republican Senator indicating at a possible obstruction to tax reform. Reuters’ technical analysis suggests that LME aluminium may retest resistance at US$2,174 per tonne; a break above the level could lead to a gain to the next resistance at US$2,196. There is a support at...
According to a Reuters report, two Russian business tycoons Mikhail Prokhorov and Viktor Vekselberg have expressed intention to sell a 3-per cent stake in Russian aluminium company Rusal using accelerated bookbuilding (ABB). While Prokhorov is offering 0.7 per cent in Hong Kong-listed Rusal, Vekselberg is offering 2.3 per cent, one of the bookrunners confirmed. The ABB deal announcement comes less than a week after En+ Group, which owns a 48 per cent stake in Rusal, said it would float an IPO in London and Moscow. Based on Rusal’s closing share price of HK$5.84 on Tuesday, October 10, the market value of 3 per cent stake is $341 million. The company’s shares fell 2.8 percent in Hong Kong during the day. Neither Rusal and Onexim Group, which manages Prokhorov’s assets, or Renova Group,...
