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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SMM surveyed 44 Chinese aluminium smelters about their opinions over aluminium price outlook. About 55 per cent of them expect SHFE 1608 aluminium to hold above RMB 12,300/mt and LME aluminium return to USD 1,630/mt. First, aluminium stocks in China’s five major markets fell 26,000 mt to 337,000 mt as of Monday. Second, longs are taking the upper hand. Another 27 per cent expect SHFE 1608 aluminium to fluctuate at RMB 12,100-12,300/mt and LME aluminium move at USD 1,600-1,630/mt. First, UK leave vote may force the US Fed to delay interest rate hike process. Second, middle rate of Chinese yuan broke through 6.63 against US dollar on Monday, the lowest since 2011. This will trigger big volatility in base metals. Third, falling stocks in the market will allow aluminium smelters to hold back...
Britain's exit from the European Union is now a given. The British people have voted by a narrow majority 51.8/48.2 to leave the EU. What happens now to the UKl and to the world economy is pretty uncertain. David Cameron, Britain’s Prime Minister, has already made it official that he will step downin October, before the conference season, to make way for a new leader of the party’s choosing. In the meantime, the markets have reacted to the decision rather badly. The FTSE 250, considered a close barometer of the UK economy, fell by 12.3 per cent before paring losses back to 7.1 per cent, while the pound tumbled to $1.30, before recovering slightly to $1.36 against the dollar. The fall of sterling has been the steepest one-day fall ever seen. Against the euro, the pound dropped 7 per cent...
Aluminium buyers in Japan, Asia’s top importer, have settled on a premium that’s as much as 23 percent lower for the July quarter, as rising output swells a global glut of the lightweight alloy. The premium for the three months starting July 1 will drop to $90 a metric ton from $115-$117 a ton in the current quarter, according to two Japanese buyers, who asked not to be named because the talks are confidential. The Japanese premium is the benchmark for Asia and indicates the amount paid to global producers on top of London Metal Exchange prices. The premium was last at $90 a ton in the October quarter last year. The two buyers said they have settled with a single seller. Price negotiations continue between Japanese companies and other global suppliers. The lower fee reflects excess...
LME aluminium will move in a wide range next week, SMM says. Market attention will focus on what monetary policies major economies will introduce after the UK leaves the EU. The US dollar index will have big impact on LME aluminium. SMM sees LME aluminium at $1,580-1,640 per tonne, with support at the 20-day and 60-day moving averages. Low aluminium stocks in China will allow SHFE 1608 aluminium to move at highs of 12,100-12,400 yuan per tonne. In east China spot market, low stocks will allow spot prices to trade at premiums over SHFE 1607 aluminium. But weakening demand in the off-season will narrow spot premiums to 20-90 yuan per tonne. Key macroeconomic indicators for base metal prices Markets will continue digesting the influence of UK’s exit from EU this week with eyes on the Bank of...
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba), the Bahrain-based international aluminium smelter, is proud to have received a Certificate of Excellence from R&D Carbon-Switzerland (RDC), one of the leading providers of Carbon Electrodes Technologies, on the occasion of completing 10 years of outstanding performance in Carbon sampling and analysis. Alba’s Chief Marketing Officer, Khalid A. Latif and Manager Customer Technical Services (CTS) Hussain Al Malali congratulated the Laboratory team during a ceremony that was held to mark this occasion. Speaking at the occasion, CMO Khalid Al. Latif said: “We are proud that our processes and facilities adhere, if not exceed, the highest international standards and best practices in the industry. Being recognised by a renowned establishment like RDC is a...
Aluminium prices hovered near one-month high this week with the metal benefiting from an overall increase in risk appetite on the sentiment that the UK will remain in the EU. Prior this week, the sentiment leaned toward the expectation that the UK would exit and concerns over that it would send investors on a flight to safety. Base metals like aluminium are perceived as riskier investments. While the market’s recent focus has been on Brexit, and this has controlled the metal’s price, overall, aluminium’s fundamentals are weak with the biggest challenge remaining the market’s oversupply, but demand has been a bit of a bright spot. Aluminium saw some upside earlier in the year after China increased its infrastructure spending. However, there are concerns over how sustainable China’s demand...
Aluminium stocks in China’s five major markets have been falling steadily, though the pace has slowed down significantly. Market is now most concerned with when stocks will begin growing. Aluminium capacity is being restarted, albeit slowly. Aluminium ingot shipments from northwest China will keep growing. Downstream producers will reduce stocks in the fourth week of June against falling orders, which will significantly hurt demand for both aluminium ingot and aluminium liquid. Based on current pace of aluminium ingot shipments from northwest China, SMM sees a good chance for stocks to begin increasing after the second week of July. Aluminium stocks in China’s five major markets, which were 406,000 tonnes as of June 16, will continue falling slightly before the first half of July, SMM...
Excess aluminium production in China is damaging the prospects of aluminium producers in the rest of the world, purely because of the size of China’s massive aluminium industry, observed analysts at MetalMiner. As prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange have risen this year, idled smelters have restarted and new capacity has continued to come on-stream. Annualized run rates increased by almost 650,000 mt over the course of April and May, Reuters reports, with May’s average daily output of 86,290 mt the highest since November 2015 before prices fell below $1,518 (10,000 yuan). The other factor apparently effecting Beijing’s attitude is the rapid rise in capacity is coming from new state of the art low cost aluminium smelters in China’s Northwestern provinces. Aluminium is not seen as an...
SHFE 1608 aluminium will consolidate at highs of RMB 12,250-12,400/mt today, with eyes on UK referendum. LME aluminium will move at highs of USD 1,625-1,645/mt. In China’s spot aluminium market, spot premiums of RMB 90-130/mt are expected over SHFE 1607 aluminium contract. Key macroeconomic indicators for base metal prices Market will eye June manufacturing PMIs from the euro zone and US and US new home sales today. With UK referendum just around the corner, market caution will intensify. France’s manufacturing PMI might remain below 50 in June, which will be a drag on manufacturing in the euro zone. Manufacturing PMIs in Germany and the euro zone are expected to continue rising. New York and Philadelphia Fed manufacturing indexes for June were positive. US manufacturing PMI pointed to...
LME aluminium still targets $1,648 per tonne, as it has been hovering above a resistance at $1,624 after breaking it. The resistance was provided by the 86.4 percent Fibonacci projection level of an upward wave C, the third wave of a three-wave cycle from the Nov. 23, 2015 low of $1,432.50. The next resistance will be at $1,648, the 100 percent level, a break above which could lead to a gain to the 114.6 percent level at $1,673. A break below $1,624, now a support, could cause a loss to the 76.4 percent level at $1,607.
Aluminium Bahrain has approached banks for a $750 million loan towards the financing of its Line 6 expansion project, reported industry sources on Tuesday, June 21. Alba will become the world's largest single aluminium smelter complex, boosting its annual output by 540,000 tonnes to 1.5 million tonnes per year by adding the sixth "potline", used in producing the metal from raw materials such as bauxite. Production from the facility is expected to start in early 2019 and Alba is raising around $3 billion to help finance the scheme, through a mixture of loans from banks and export credit agencies and an international bond or sukuk issue. Alba had initially targeted $3.5 billion, but this was cut back due to lower oil and commodity prices, it said last month. The first stage of this...
A potential short squeeze is in sight, and this will bolster SHFE near month aluminium contract prices, most market players contacted by SMM predict. Positions of SHFE 1607 aluminium are 111,144 lots yesterday, which require 277,860 tonnes of aluminium for delivery. However, inventories of deliverable SHFE aluminium were just 57,399 tonnes, which is far from enough. Such high positions will expose investors to potential short squeeze. So, shorts will either have to simply close out positions, which will boost SHFE 1607 aluminium prices , or roll positions to distant month aluminium contracts on the SHFE, which will support SHFE 1607 aluminium prices while driving down SHFE distant month aluminium contract prices. Continuous declines in domestic aluminium stocks serve as another support to...
A recovery in demand is a key factor supporting aluminium prices this year. China unleashed a renewed government stimulus in the form of credit expansion and infrastructure building in December, which has — at least momentarily — improved the demand side of the equation for industrial metals. Trade figures this year showed China’s relatively strong appetite for aluminium. Higher demand means exporting less as Chinese companies are consuming more aluminium domestically. China’s exports of unwrought aluminium and aluminium semis were 420,000 metric tons in May. From January to May, exports are down 7.9 per cent compared to the same period last year. Overcapacity Still an Issue China and the U.S. failed to reach an agreement on how to address excess global aluminium capacity in early June....
Coal-electricity-aluminium industry has been booming in Holingola city, Inner Mongolia, one of China’s major aluminium producing regions, in recent years thanks to rich coal resources there, reported industry sources. The city hosted 148 coal-electricity-aluminium projects during the 2011-2015, with coal capacity at 33.4 million tonnes, thermal power installed capacity at 4.12 million kilowatts and primary aluminium capacity at 1.68 million tonnes. The local government will extend coal-electricity-aluminium value chain this year. To this end, Inner Mongolia Jinlian Aluminum Co. will finish construction of 2 sets of 660,000-kw power generating units and add primary aluminium capacity by 430,000 tonnes. Inner Mongolia Chuangyuan Metal Co. will add primary aluminium capacity by 150,000...
Rio Tinto will strengthen its organizational structure to continue to drive performance under its new chief executive Jean-Sébastien Jacques. From 2 July 2016, Rio Tinto’s product group structure will be adjusted to better align the Group’s assets with the business strategy to help drive further efficiencies and optimize performance. The Group’s world-class assets will be firmly at the centre of the business and will be supported by efficient and agile global functions. Jean-Sébastien Jacques said “In the face of testing times for the industry, Rio Tinto is performing remarkably well. Our ambition is to deliver superior performance day-in and day-out so that we create value for our shareholders and communities now and over the long term. “Our strategy, commitment to balance sheet strength...
The International Committee for Study of Bauxite, Alumina & Aluminium is organizing their 2016 edition of the international event in the period 3 - 6 October, 2016 in the Palace Royal hotel, Quebec, Canada. Since 1963 ICSOBA has organized 33 international events in different places of the world. The selection of Quebec, Canada for the 34th International Conference and Exhibition, follows ICSOBA’s practice of rotating the venue of International Meetings to countries that play an important role in the global aluminium industry. The Conference is supported by Rio Tinto and REGAL (Quebec Aluminium R&D centers associations). Numerous abstracts from Quebec and international researchers have already reached the organizers. On Monday morning, 3 October, six keynote speakers will make...
Russian aluminium giant Rusal Plc may reduce its output capacity by 200,000 tonnes if aluminium prices fall below $1,500 per tonne, Chief Executive Vladislav Soloviev was quoted as saying in a recent press meet. Overtaken last year by China's Hongqiao as the world's top aluminium producer, Rusal has long considered a plan to reduce capacity but has never pegged it to a certain price for the metal. The output cut could be carried out at its Kandalaksha smelter in northwestern Russia and its Novokuznetsk smelter in Siberia, Soloviev told RIA, adding that Rusal planned to keep its 2017 capital expenditure at $600 million. Aluminium prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME) are up about 8 percent this year at $1,622 per tonne.
Top executives from the GCC's primary aluminium smelters will participate at the 20th Arab International Aluminium Conference ("ARABAL 2016") in Dubai, UAE, from 22 to 24 November 2016 as part of an industry keynote panel discussion - covering topics such as the various factors relating to the regional downstream aluminium industry. Emirates Global Aluminium ("EGA") - the largest primary aluminium producer in the Gulf - is host of the two-day ARABAL 2016 conference, which has adopted the theme "Global Challenges - Seeking Solutions", this year marking the sixth time that EGA will have hosted the event. Commenting on his own participation in the industry keynote panel discussion at ARABAL 2016, Abdulla Kalban (MD & CEO: EGA) said, "It is always a pleasure to share the stage with industry...
