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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In market news on Aug 10, according to Reuters, U.S. appeals court on Tuesday rejected nationwide antitrust lawsuit by a number of end users accusing banks and commodity companies of working together to drive up aluminium prices by deliberately controlling supply. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan, by a 3-0 vote, said so-called commercial end users and consumer end users lacked relevance to sue because their alleged antitrust injuries were too far removed from the alleged misconduct. The petitioners had accused Goldman Sachs Group Inc, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Glencore Plc, and various other commodity trading, metals mining and metals warehousing companies of scheming in between 2009 and 2012 to raise prices by hoarding aluminium inventory. They alleged that such deliberate...
Aluminium smelters in Xinjiang, China’s major aluminium producing region, have been enjoying a competitive edge over their competitors in the rest of the country, thanks to abundant coal reserves there. Coal reserves in Xinjiang are estimated at 2.19 trillion tonnes, claiming over 40% of national reserves, Huatai Futures said. Aluminium smelting industry, an industry that relies heavily on power, is developing in full swing in Xinjiang, where aluminium capacity totals 6 million tonnes for now. Aluminium capacity in Zhundong Economic Development Zone, where China’s biggest coal mine is located, totals 2.4 million tonnes at present. Aluminium smelters in the economic zone are allowed to build captive power plants, with their captive power cost below 0.2 yuan/kwh. In the long run, the...
SMM surveyed 44 Chinese aluminium smelters about their opinions over aluminium price outlook. About 68% of them expect SHFE 1610 aluminium to stabilize between RMB 12,100-12,400/mt and LME aluminium between USD 1,625-1,650/mt. Aluminium stocks in domestic five major markets stopped falling on Monday, up 8,000 mt from last Thursday. China Monetary Policy Report Q2 2016, released by the PBOC on August 5, weakened hopes for interest rate and RRR cuts. If SHFE aluminium keeps rising, prices will face short selling from aluminium smelters for hedging purpose. Despite positive non-farm payrolls, the US dollar index lost upward momentum after breaking through the 40-day moving average, which will give some relief to base metals prices. Another 25% expect SHFE 1610 aluminium to rise above RMB...
Aluminium futures inched 0.6 per cent downward to close a bit lower this week. The strengthening of the U.S. dollar weighed heavy on the white metal traded on London Metal Exchange. According to the latest Economic Calender report, the U.S. dollar edged higher vis-a-vis rival currencies following the release of positive payroll data by Automatic Data Processing. “A higher U.S. dollar is negative for dollar denominated commodities because it decreases demand for the commodities from holders of international currencies,” noted Donald Levit, a strategist for the Economic Calendar. Levit speculated that with the Chinese buyers locking in prices for upcoming October shipments, aluminium uptrend could be on the horizon. In addition to China stocking up on the white metal to feed its upcoming...
Natural resources firm Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) has entered into an agreement with financial services firm VTB Group to finance a six-year aluminium supply worth an estimated €3 million (US$3.3 million). VTB Capital has reportedly already released an advance payment for the purchase of 660,000 metric tons for the life of the loan to supply Kazakhstan Electrolysis Plant (KEP) in Pavlodar. VTB Capital has already entered into additional long-term contracts for sale of the metal in question to end users. According to reports, the parties have developed a hedge strategy to protect them against potential drops in the aluminium market by fixing a floor for the sale of the metal in the contract. Accordingly, KEP will not sell below a particular price within certain corridors in order to...
The London Metal Exchange has bowed to pressure from disgruntled members and slashed fees for one of its most popular trades in an attempt to stem falling activity. The move is a climbdown for the world’s centre for metals trading and its parent company Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, which bought the 139-year-old exchange for £1.4bn in 2012. Charles Li, chief executive of HKEx, had defended the LME’s fee structure as recently as June, saying its charges were not excessive and it was not “ripping off” its members. The LME said late on Friday that it would cut fees for short-dated trades by 44 per cent to $0.50 as it sought to address concerns by its members and arrest sliding volumes. The LME, which has been forced to move out of its new headquarters in London because of a structural...
During the Annual General Meeting of Vedanta Resources in London on August 5, company chairman Mr. Anil Agarwal reaffirms his faith on the positive global market trend and the fast moving Indian economy. He assures that Vedanta is well ahead of its worst time and the turnaround in the commodity sector is finally there. He pointed towards Vedanta’s strength that lies in its high-quality portfolio of assets. In a challenging market struggling with lower commodity prices, Vedanta proved its efficiency as a low cost producer and generated strong cash flow, brought down net and gross debt and delivered strong EBITDA margins during the 1st quarter and the last FY. He sounded positive about the fastest growing Indian economy, which is expected to drive demand for commodities in the global...
As a standard reflection of dropping aluminium inventories dropped in LME warehouses as well as Shanghai Futures Exchange, aluminium prices have been showing an upward trend with the LME closing at $ 1,645 and SME closing at $ 1,908 on August 1. Aluminium prices climbed signaling tighter supplies in both the markets. Aluminium inventories in Shanghai Futures Exchange warehouses fell to the lowest in August 1st week since 2011. According to an SMM report, Aluminium stocks in China’s five major markets including Shanghai, Wuxi, Nanhai, Hangzhou and Gongyi continued falling after hitting the 5 year’s low, though the pace has slowed down. Local smelters are producing fewer ingots and sticking to molten aluminium. And major part of the ingots is still on the way from northwest China to major...
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The state-owned aluminium producer National Aluminium Company (Nalco) is aiming at paring down aluminium output cost by eight-nine per cent to increase long-term profitability in a changed business scenario. The company aims to do that by ramping up production through brownfield expansion and by switching to energy efficient technology. "Since the price of aluminium in the international market remains subdued and is likely to remain so for some time due to Chinese factor, we are working on a strategy to cut production cost and maintain profitability", said Nalco chairman cum managing director T K Chand. The two-pronged strategy is based on two things: one, Nalco plans to add a new potline based on the latest technology, at a site near to its current aluminium smelter complex at Angul in...
According to the latest market study released by Technavio, the global non-ferrous metals market is expected to grow at a CAGR of close to 5 per cent during 2016-2020. The market will be largely driven the aluminium industry growth. The global aluminium market shipped 70.37 million metric tons of products in 2015 and this will reach 88.97 million metric tons by 2020, growing at a CAGR close to 5 per cent. In terms of demand, China is the largest market for aluminium, accounting for 44 per cent of the global market due primarily to its large base of manufacturing companies. However, it has been experiencing a slowdown in growth rate in the last few years due to the import and export duties imposed by partner countries and the closing of smelters. Source: www.slideshare.net China is...
Anglo-Australian mining titan Rio Tinto reported financial results for the first half of 2016 yesterday. The firm credits strong performances in bauxite and aluminium as contributing to their strong performance in the half. “Rio Tinto has generated net cash from operating activities of $3.2 billion and reported underlying earnings of $1.6 billion, against a backdrop of continued volatility and lower commodity prices,” explained Rio Tinto chief executive Jean-Sébastien Jacques. “We focus on delivering value to shareholders. This focus is unrelenting, with further cost reductions achieved in the half and EBITDA margins of 33 per cent. With our strong operating cash flows, tight control over capital expenditure and progress on divestments, the balance sheet remains robust. Having paid the...
Aluminium contract traded on London Metal Exchange fell 0.6 per cent to close slightly lower amid growing pressure on base metals following a rise in the US dollar value. On Wednesday, US dollar gained strength following ADP’s positive private payroll data. As strong US dollar is negative for the dollar-denominated commodities prices of the base metals including that of aluminium on LME was weighed down due to decrease in demand from holders of international currencies. Aluminium remained range bound within $1614-$1643 per ton during Wednesday's trading. The commodity is meeting resistance at $1688 and finding support at $1592. According to the market watchers, an uptrend is likely for aluminium in the coming weeks, as Chinese buyers will be locking in the white metal for October...
Press Metal Bhd is on its way to making a comeback as it has received full claims from its insurer to pay off for losses incurred from last year’s fire incident at its Samalaju aluminium smelter, reported industry sources. All the smelting pots at Samalaju facility have been running in full capacity since June this year. Things have turned further conducive for Press Metal with aluminium prices gaining strength, finally, after hitting their months' lows. “Press Metal told Bursa Malaysia that it has received the final claim of RM45 million from its insurer, MSIG Insurance (Malaysia). The payment partly covered the loss caused by a fire incident at its Samalaju smelter (Phase II) in May 2015, which resulted in unstable power supply that damaged its smelting pots and halted operations. All...
Aluminium smelters in China posted big profit in July, despite rising costs, SMM learned. Smelters surveyed by SMM reported average profit to 1,250 yuan per tonne in the week ending July 29. Average cost at smelters in SMM’s survey sample rose 2.1 per cent from June to 10,752 yuan per tonne in July, driven mainly by an 8.33 per cent increase in power costs. Rising coal prices pushed up captive power costs at smelters. Alumina cost slid 1.63 per cent, while prebaked anode cost was up 1.24 per cent, and cost for other supplementary materials dropped 2.84 per cent.
Aluminium is consolidating, having failed to find follow-through buying momentum above $1,640 yesterday, as implied by the long upper shadow. Prices have encountered resistance from the 20 DMA at $1,638 but are so far holding support at $1,630 from the 40 DMA and the UTL formed by January/February/June lows. Resistance above is seen at $1,660/1,700. The stochastics remain supportive. Support below is seen at the 55 and 100 DMAs at $1,608 and 1,586 respectively. There remains room back to $1,520 to maintain the overall uptrend established so far this year. Macro factors LME stocks remain down a net 595,750 tonnes or 21 percent so far this year despite recent inbound deliveries. The c-3m spread stands at $9.5 contango. Longer-dated spreads have tightened somewhat into recent price strength,...
All upcoming aluminium projects in Inner Mongolia will now have to adopt a new price-base power tariff system. According to a recent Shanghai Metals Market report, the government has decided to implement a new pricing mechanism, which is based on aluminium prices in the Shanghai sport market. Under the price-based tariff system, power plant sells power to power grid company at 0.15 yuan/kwh when aluminium prices in Shanghai spot market are 11,500 yuan/tonne. Power grid company charges aluminium smelter 0.1 yuan/kwh fees. That means, aluminium smelters need to pay 0.25 yuan/kwh power tariffs. Since prices of power sold by the power plant, fees charged by power-grid company and tariffs paid by aluminium smelter owners are all linked in the new system, when aluminium prices in the Shanghai...
SHFE 1609 aluminium, after opening at RMB 12,290/mt, fell to RMB 12,240/mt on Friday’s night trading. Prices of the white metal then rallied to RMB 12,355/mt on short covering, ending at RMB 12,340/mt. On Monday, short selling sent SHFE 1610 aluminium down to RMB 12,195/mt after opening at RMB 12,240/mt. It was the most active contract on the bourses. Finally, the futures contract closed at RMB 12,235/mt. Aluminium trading volumes were up 3,878 lots to 62,530 lots, and positions were up 4,542 to 149,648. SHFE 1610 aluminium will test resistance at the 20-day moving average in the short term, observes Shanghai Metals Market. According to an SMM survey, of the 43 Chinese aluminium smelters about 56 per cent were found to be expecting SHFE 1610 aluminium to stabilize between RMB...
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba), home-base of the Line 6 Expansion Project, has awarded GE and GAMA Consortium the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contractor for its Power Station (PS 5). Under the terms of the contract, GE and GAMA Consortium will be responsible to design, engineer, procure, construct and commission 1,792 megawatts (MW) Combined Cycle Gas Turbine Power Plant with an efficiency of 54%. GE will provide three 9HA gas turbines, three steam turbines and three high recovery steam generators (HRSGs) for the project. Commenting on this appointment, Alba’s Chairman of Board of Directors, Shaikh Daij Bin Salman Bin Daij Al Khalifa said: “The appointment of GE and GAMA Consortium is another significant milestone in Line 6 Expansion Project. Alba is progressing on...
