
The most-traded SHFE aluminium contract did not trade during the night session of September 24 and the daytime session of September 25. On September 24, the daytime session opened at RMB 24,230 per tonne, reached a high of RMB 24,265 per tonne and a low of RMB 24,175 per tonne, and closed at RMB 24,200 per tonne, down RMB 30 per tonne or 0.12 per cent from the previous close. Futures consolidated at highs before pulling back, with prices falling below the 5-day moving average while remaining above the 20/40/60-period moving averages. Medium and long-term moving averages maintained an upward pattern. Trading volume during the session was 98,900 lots, and open interest stood at 281,000 lots, down 8,300 lots, driven mainly by bulls closing positions. On the technical front, a death cross...
LME aluminium prices moved higher across cash and forward contracts on September 25, while the Asian Reference Price and alumina Platts price also increased. Opening stocks remained unchanged, while cancelled warrants rose sharply. The LME aluminium cash bid price rose 0.80 per cent to USD 3,253 per tonne on September 25 from USD 3,227 per tonne on September 24 . The cash offer price showed a similar trend. It also increased 0.80 per cent to USD 3,254 per tonne from USD 3,228 per tonne. Explore the production, demand and consumption forecasts of bauxite and alumina in our report: " Global Bauxite & Alumina Market Forecast to 2036: Supply–Demand, Trade Flows & Price Outlook " The three-month aluminium bid price rose 0.40 per cent to USD 3,265 per tonne from USD 3,252 per tonne, while the...
Grow with
AL Circle

<p>Primary aluminium producers in the Gulf region are looking at strategies to cut costs heavily as they find it difficult to cope with the rising global aluminium glut and protectionism under a new U.S. presidency, reported industry sources. All five Gulf aluminium producers namely, Emirates Global Aluminium, Aluminium Bahrain, Sohar Aluminium, Qatalum, Maaden- said they were planning cost cutting in order to deal with the oversupply of the metal exacerbated by the woes of low aluminium prices.<br /><br />"The most important factor in our business is to protect our margin," said Abdulla Al Kalban, the chief executive of EGA, at the International Aluminium Conference in Dubai today. "We keep hammering our costs every day." EGA is the Gulf’s largest aluminium producer and produces...

<p>LME aluminium is on an upward trajectory. Marginal decline in China's aluminium exports this year coupled with steep rise in thermal coal and alumina prices have buoyed the prices up on the bourse, so much so that even the most pessimistic estimates put the annual demand growth rate of the metal at about 4 per cent. LME aluminium closed at US$1,739/mt after Tuesday's night trading. The current cash buyer price as on November 23 stands at US$1,738/mt.<br /><br />Three-Month LME aluminium prices are trending higher this year. The 3-months LME Buyer price is recorded at US$1,36.5/mt and 3-months LME Seller price is at US$1,737/mt.<br /><br />LME official opening stocks of aluminium as on November 23 stands at 2144100 tonnes.</p> <p><img style="vertical-align: middle; display: block;...

<p>After China, another region that is growing substantially in primary aluminium production is the GCC or the Gulf countries. The volume of aluminium production in the Gulf region stood at 5.2 million tonnes in 2015, accounting for around 10 per cent of total global output of 58 million tonnes. This was due to the major expansion of existing smelters and commissioning of new projects that the production is increasing at a faster rate. After oil and natural gas, now aluminium is one of the key economic drivers for the Gulf region. Forty per cent of the total aluminium production is utilised by the domestic downstream aluminium industries and about 60 per cent is exported to different parts of the world.</p> <p>{newsStudioGallery}</p> <p>Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) in UAE is the top...

<p>The 20th Arab International Aluminium Conference (“ARABAL”), the Middle East's premiere aluminium industry event, opened its doors today at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai, UAE. To be held from 22 to 24 November 2016, the two-day ARABAL conference and associated exhibition is expected to witness a mega congregation of more than 2,000 international delegates, speakers, sponsors, exhibitors and visitors from 40 countries across the globe. The event is hosted by Emirates Global Aluminium (“EGA”) for the sixth time this year under the able patronage of HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister of Finance. <br /><br />ARABAL is the biggest aluminium industry event of the Middle East wherein all the primary aluminium producers of the...

<p>Aluminium prices on major bourses across the world have staged a strong comeback after the last week's slump with LME aluminium closing at US$1,726/mt on Monday, November 21. Yesterday, the contract touched the 20-day moving average and is expected to challenge the 10-day moving average on Tuesday. LME aluminium will range between US$1,710-1,730/mt today, supported by rising crude oil, says Shanghai Metals Market. <br /><br />According to the latest Metals Balances Report published by the World Bureau of Metal Statistics (WBMS), the global primary aluminium market recorded a marginal deficit during the first nine months of the current year. The data revealed a deficit of 806,000 tons against a 550,000 tons deficit for the entire financial year of 2015.<br /><br />Global production of...

<p>After a few years of lull, Indian aluminium industry is finally getting to experience a decent rise in consumption. Indian aluminium majors see the demand charting a double-digit growth in the current financial year, buoyed by automobile growth and enhanced industrial activity. Factors like increasing public investment in massive infrastructure and power sector reforms and unprecedented rural demand are also being viewed as key growth drivers. <br /><br />“Indian demand is expected to witness a strong double-digit growth following the steps taken up by the government to boost industrial production, its investment in infrastructure and its thrust on power sector reforms. Good monsoons are expected to boost rural demand,” noted a Hindalco spokesperson in a recent analyst...

<p>Russian Federation is the 10th largest export economy in the world and raw aluminium happens to be one of its top exports valued at US$7.64 billion. In 2015, aluminium worth US$6.9 billion was shipped globally from Russia; the volume comprised 2.1 per cent of the country’s total exports. <br /><br />In the meantime, the global trade in unwrought aluminium amounted to US$20,941 million in 2015, showing strong fluctuations over the period under review. A significant drop in 2009 was followed by recovery over the next two years, until exports decreased again. Overall, there was an annual decrease of -2.9 per cent from 2007 to 2015. Russia remained the global leader in exports of unwrought aluminium. In 2015, Russia's unwrought aluminium exports totalled US$3762.6 million, which...

<p>The possible infrastructure development plan from the newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump seems to have finally livened up the commodities market a bit. The base metal prices which were heading downward reversed their trends and responded favourably before the week ended on November 18, Friday. LME aluminium prices inched higher by 1.15 per cent to close at US$1,712/mt on Friday from a previous low of US$1,692.50/mt on Thursday. <br /><br />According to the Shanghai Metals Market forecast, LME aluminium that struggled at the 40-day moving average last week will range between US$1,680-1,705/mt on Monday, November 21, with support.<br /><br />The current LME Aluminium Official Cash Buyer Price stands at 1,711.50/mt. The Cash Seller & Settlement price is at US$1,712/mt, 3-months...

<p>According to a Reuter’s report, Century Aluminum Co. CFO Rick Dillon will be leaving the company in order to pursue another professional opportunity. A company report confirms the news and also announces that till the time the Board of Directors selects a replacement for Dillon, CEO Michael Bless, will assume interim responsibilities of the principal financial officer.<br /><br /><img style="vertical-align: middle; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="http://www.alcircle.com/uploads/images/Michael%20bless.jpg" alt="News" width="412" height="399" /> <strong><em>Century CEO Michael Bless</em></strong></p>...

<p>Aluminium consumption in India was estimated at 15.49 million tonnes (mt) during the second quarter of the current financial year. Total production volume, on the other side, stood at 14.47 mt in the same period previous year. Clearly, there is a demand-supply gap that remains to be bridged through imports. Following graph shows the existing aluminium production capacity of the country:<br /><br /><img style="vertical-align: middle; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="http://www.alcircle.com/uploads/images/India%20alu%20demand-supply%201.jpg" alt="News" width="517" height="226" /><br />India's total consumption of aluminium during third quarter of the current financial year is estimated at 15.20 mt against the expected aluminium production volume of 15.01 mt...

<p>As if Trump's win in the U.S. Presidential elections and speculations over possible Fed rates hike were not enough to weigh on the LME aluminium prices that Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen joined in to deliver a speech in a 'hawkish' tone on Thursday. Result - the US dollar index which was already hovering at highs shot up further dragging the contract further down to US$1,692.50/mt at the end of Thursday's night trading. As on November 18, Friday, LME official cash buyer price of aluminium stands at US$1692/mt. <br /><br />LME aluminium is predicted to test support at the 40-day moving average and will move between US$1,688-1,700/mt on Friday. According to Shanghai Metals Market forecast, base metals will remain range-bound in the near term. <br /><br /><img style="vertical-align: middle;...

<p>As a forward step towards the construction plan of an aluminium smelter and a gas-based power plant in Iran, Nalco is sending a research group comprising of senior executives to Iran for doing a feasibility round up. The information came from a senior Indian government official on condition of anonymity.<br /><br />After the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Iran in May when India signed a deal to develop the Chabahar port, India’s has been working on its strategic ties with the Parsian Gulf country. Nalco has a plan to invest $2 billion to set up a 0.5 million tonne per annum smelting facility in Iran and to produce aluminium at a lesser cost.<br /><br /><img style="vertical-align: middle; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"...

<p>After consulting domestic aluminium manufacturers, state-run engineering consultant Mecon Ltd in a recent report submitted to the ministry of mines has recommended imposition of minimum import price (MIP) on primary aluminium to guard the industry against cheap imports. <br /><br />InfraCircle on 25 October reported about the Aluminium Association of India—a lobby group with firms such as Vedanta Ltd, Hindalco Industries Ltd and National Aluminium Co. Ltd (Nalco) as members—hiring Mecon to prepare a report to explore the possibility of introducing MIP on aluminium products. <br /><br />“We have recently received a report from Mecon in which it says that MIP shall be imposed on primary aluminium as cost of production of domestic aluminium manufacturers is higher than...

<p>LME aluminium's downward journey along the price graph enters its second day since it marked a reversal on November 15, Tuesday. The contract closed at US$1,719/mt on the exchange on Wednesday after being traded at US$1,727 the previous day. The current LME official cash buyer price of aluminium stands at US$1,718.50/mt. The decline is correlated with the surge in the U.S. Dollar index, which hit a one-year high following President-Elect Donald Trump’s victory last week. <br /><br />As per Shanghai Metals Market forecast, LME aluminium will keep downward momentum on Thursday and test support at the 40-day moving average. The contract is predicted to move between US$1,687-1,714/mt on Thursday.<br /><br />Goldman Sachs has raised its 3-month, 6-month and 12-month forecast for base...

<p>Central European Aluminium Company, CEAC, which is owned by Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska is suing the government of Montenegro for “hundreds of millions of euros” over the failure of its KAP plant in the capital Podgorica, a press release by the firm says.<br /><br />The case will be heard in Cyprus, which is the base location for CEAC. The company alleges that the plant went bankrupt as Montenegro violated a 2010 settlement agreement. The company however, did not specify the compensation amount in the media release.<br /><br /><img style="vertical-align: middle; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="http://www.alcircle.com/uploads/images/KAP%20Wikimedia%20Bjoertvedt%20640.jpg" alt="News" width="517" height="226" /><br /><br />The CEAC’s...

<p>Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba), the Bahrain-based international aluminium smelter, in line with its commitment to achieve the 2016 Expectations, held a one-day ‘2016 Expectations Review’ meeting with the Management on November 08, 2016 at the Alba Club, Riffa. </p> <p><img style="vertical-align: middle; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="http://www.alcircle.com/uploads/images/Alba%20holds%202016.jpg" alt="News" width="517" height="226" /><br />In line with the CEO’s Expectations for the Year 2016, the meeting was held for Alba Management officials to apprise Alba Executives and Directors on the progress of their respective departments’ objectives for 2016 in the subcategories of safety, cost reduction, Line 6 Expansion Project and...

<p>One of the biggest aluminium companies in Romania and in Europe, Alro Slatina reported financial results for the first nine months of 2016. The company's net profit slid by 35.12 per cent from the same period of previous fiscal to stand at RON 94.25 million. Turnover in the first quarter also declined 11 per cent from the corresponding period previous year. Alro management attributed the loss in profitability to unfavorable evolution of the international pricing quotas of the aluminium. <br /><br />In the first nine months of the current fiscal, Alro Slatina reported increased aluminium production of 205,400 tonnes, up 1.13 per cent YoY. Processed aluminium production totalled at 57,500 tonnes, down 3.84 per cent YoY. Revenue generation as also lower at RON 1.58 billion, a decline by...

<p>LME aluminium has again set out for a journey downslope the price graph. With the US dollar index strengthening, market sentiment got depressed, and LME official cash buyer price of aluminium slid from US$1,765/mt on Monday to US$1,725/mt on Wednesday, November 16. After Tuesday's night trading, the metal closed at US$1,727/mt. LME aluminium will test the 20-day moving average and move between US$1,705-1,740/mt, says Shanghai Metals Market forecast. <br /><br />As per data recorded on November 14, LME Aluminium US Premium stands at US$155, LME Aluminium West-Europe Premium is at US$80, LME Aluminium East-Asia Premium is at US$65, and LME Aluminium South-East Asia Premium is at US$15. <br /><br />The current LME Official opening stock of aluminium is estimated at 2160475 tonnes. <br...