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...
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<p>LME aluminium prices continue to rise, though at a moderate rate, as active investors watch perplexed as to what is driving the rise because, there are many macroeconomic factors, especially US presidential elections, which are actually expected to keep the market subdued. However, supply shortage in the Chinese market where overcapacity remains an issue is driving the global aluminium prices up, observe analysts.<br /><br />LME aluminium closed at US$1716 /mt after Monday's night trading. LME Aluminium is expected to strengthen throughout the week, according to an SMM forecast.<br /><br /><img style="vertical-align: middle; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="http://www.alcircle.com/uploads/images/AlToolz%20I%20LME%20Aluminium%20Prices.png" alt="News"...
<p>Higher coal prices in China threaten primary aluminium smelters by shrinking margins. But higher coal prices do not affect all smelters equally. More than half of China’s output of aluminium is sensitive to coal price increases. The balance is either immune or the impact will be delayed until 2017.<br /><br />One-third of China’s aluminium smelters buy power directly from the grid, while the rest operate with captive power plants. Of those operating with dedicated power plants, around a quarter have access to their own coal mines so are not directly affected by coal price movements. It is the captive power plants that purchase coal which are directly impacted by changes in the coal price – albeit a varied impact depending on the province and, importantly, the...
<p>LME aluminium prices are on the rise. After having taken a U-turn from last week’s temporary dip, the light metal is now again on an upward trajectory buoyed by growing stockpile in the Chinese market and concern hovering over an available supply shortage. After Friday’s night trading, the contract traded on LME closed at US$1,718.50/mt. <br /><br />On Monday, November 7, LME aluminium is expected to drop below the 5-day moving average to US$1,705-1,725/mt, said SMM in an early morning forecast. <br /><br />“Aluminium supply has increased this year as rising aluminium prices triggered release of new capacity and restarts of idled capacity. However, as we recently pointed out, there are other factors pushing aluminium prices up,” noted MetalMiner analyst Raul de...
<p>Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba), the Bahrain-based international aluminium smelter, as part of its commitment to be cost-and-energy efficient, kick-started an upgrade Project aimed to increase the amperage of Reduction Lines 4 & 5 in September 2016.<br /><br />The Project - new pot lining design and installation that will allow the increase in amperage on Reduction Lines 4 & 5 - will empower Alba to be aligned with its industry peers (aluminium smelters) in terms of amperage and productivity.<br /><br />Alba’s Chief Executive Officer, Tim Murray with acting Chief Operations Officer, Amin Sultan inaugurated the Project in the presence of Director Reduction Lines & Services Abdulla Habib and Department Managers. <br /><br /><img style="vertical-align: middle;...
<p>IBAAS 2016, the fifth annual conference of the International Bauxite Alumina & Aluminium Society, was organized jointly with the Indian Institute of Metals, during September 26- 28, 2016, at Goa, India. The topic for the symposium was ’Aluminium Industry - The Evolving Asia-Pacific story’. The conference was inaugurated by Mr. Balvinder Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Mines, Government of India. The conference was also graced by Guests of Honor Dr. T K Chand, CMD, NALCO and Dr I. Manna, President of The Indian Institute of Metals (IIM) and Director IIT Kanpur.<br /><br />Other important dignitaries from India included Mr. Abhijit Pati, CEO, Vedanta, Dr. Biswajit Basu, Deputy Head Aditya Birla Science & Technology Co. Pvt. Ltd. (the research & technology arm of...
<p>As a step towards sustainability the International Aluminium Institute (IAI), the global association of aluminium producers, and the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI), an organisation with the mission to promote responsible production and stewardship of aluminium, signed a memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to work together in order to promote improved performance for the global aluminium industry, higher production standard, recycling and sustainability.<br /><br />Both the organizations have been working towards the achievement of these goals in their individual sphere. The five-year MoU was signed by ASI Chief Executive Officer, Fiona Solomon, and IAI Secretary General, Ron Knapp. Both the organizations will work together to share measurement, reporting and verification...
<p>Despite uncertainty persisting among traders ahead of the US elections next week, base metals mostly rose overnight supported by multiple macroeconomic factors, barring a few on global commodity exchanges. LME aluminium broke through the US$1,700/mt limit to close at US$1,726/mt after Thursday’s night trading. The reversal from the dip aluminium recorded a day before on Wednesday, November 2, at US$1,709/mt can be attribute in part to a rise in energy prices, say experts. <br /><br />During the aluminium price rally reported a week earlier, analysts said rising thermal power and alumina costs in most countries, especially in China, and a significant uptick in demand for the metal used in beverage cans as well as aircrafts were the key supporting factors. The quick reversal from...
<p>India's state-owned aluminium producer National Aluminium Company (Nalco), in all likelihood, is planning to hold back its greenfield aluminium smelter plan in Iran. The Navaratna PSU had planned to come up with a 0.5 million tonne per annum (mtpa) aluminium smelting facility in the West Asian country to cash in on the easy availability of cheaper natural gas there, but the current market conditions do not seem to favour the project. <br /><br />"Currently, the market conditions do not favour us to set up an aluminium smelter in Iran. A new overseas smelter needs substantial investment and we would evaluate all factors before going ahead with the plan. Nalco has domestic commitments as of now and we are going for a ramp-up of our existing smelting unit at Angul (Odisha)," said a senior...
<p>LME aluminium dipped during morning trading on Wednesday, November 2 as profit-taking weighed on the prices marking a hiatus after the recent rally. The US dollar index kept easing on Wednesday as uncertainty persisted over the US presidential elections next week. The investors are feeling jittery and increasingly moving towards safe-haven assets. <br /><br />The three-month LME aluminium price was down by $26 from $1,732 per tonne to stand at $1,709 per tonne. LME official opening stocks, which were at 2,141,300 tonnes, fell 3,950 tonnes to 2,137,350 tonnes. Cancelled warrants, however, jumped 764775 tonnes, a move especially centred on Asia. <br /><br />According to Shanghai Metals Market forecast, LME aluminium is expected to move between $1,710-1,730 per tonne on Thursday, November...
<p>Soon after reporting a net loss of $58.3 million ($0.67 per share) in Q3 2016 against $9.5 million ($0.11 per share) in Q2 2016, Century Aluminium is now awaiting a possible change of ownership, reported an industry source aware of the matter. Speculations are running rife that the aluminium company that once employed more than 600 people in Ravenswood, West Virginia, is on the verge of gaining new ownership. But it is likely that the plant will no longer make aluminium; instead it will get a new life as a coal liquefaction facility.<br /><br />According to the source, executive director of the Jackson County Development Authority, Mark Whitley has confirmed that there is one interested buyer who has neared the conclusion of a deal with the Chicago based aluminium producer. <br /><br...
<p>India's primary aluminium producers are finally hoping to see some ray of hope as the country's mines ministry said that it is working to come out with a decision on duty protection measure for the domestic aluminium sector in a couple of weeks from now. <br /><br />"We are working to provide safeguard duty protection for primary aluminium producers being hurt from dumping. We will decide (on the matter) soon, may be in two-three weeks," Union Mines Secretary Lavender Kumar said in a recent press meet. He further indicated that it could be either in the form of safeguard duty or anti-dumping duty. <br /><br />India's primary aluminium sector has been facing dumping of cheap aluminium products from countries like China for over a year now. This has impacted rather severely on their...
<p>Reforms to the London Metal Exchange's global warehouse network have, as planned, cut the amount of metal trapped in storage, but the unintended consequence is a distorted fundamental picture and more pressure on already tumbling volumes.<br /><br />Since 2013, the LME has implemented measures aimed at reducing queues for aluminium as it leaves warehouses after banks and traders that own them profited from letting long queues build up while charging rent.<br /><br />Measures to cut queues included higher load-out rates for metal to leave warehouses and a freeze on maximum rental rates. Most effective so far has been the cap on rents. The rent payable on metal stuck in a queue longer than 30 days drops by half and after 50 days no rent is payable on LME metal.<br /><br />"The rent...
<p>Alcoa Corporation today announced that it has completed the separation from its parent company Alcoa Inc. (now named Arconic Inc.) and has begun operating as an independent, publicly-traded company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “AA.” Alcoa Corporation is a globally cost-competitive industry leader in bauxite, alumina and aluminium products, positioned to succeed throughout the market cycle.</p> <p>“We are launching Alcoa Corporation as a world leader in the aluminium industry with distinct competitive advantages across the value chain,” said Roy Harvey, Chief Executive Officer of Alcoa. “Our bauxite and alumina portfolios enjoy strong first quartile cost positions and our aluminium portfolio has a highly competitive second quartile...
<p>The entire base metal market including aluminium is on a bullish mode. LME three month aluminium prices are finally jumping on the bandwagon hitting a 15-month high as energy prices rise and demand boosts up.</p> <p>On Tuesday’s night trading, the contract traded on LME dropped marginally with positions closing by longs after a seven-day rise and the contract is expected to hover at USD 1,715-1,740/mt on Wednesday with mixed factors, said SMM in an early morning forecast.</p> <p><img style="vertical-align: middle; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="http://www.alcircle.com/uploads/images/LME%20ALUMINIUM.jpg" alt="" width="448" height="335" /></p> <p>On Monday October 31, 3 months Aluminium traded on London Metal Exchange closed at US$1724.00/mt and the...
<p>On October 26, 2016, during the opening session of Aluminum Week 2016, organised by China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association, at Nanning City, Guangxi, China, Heidi Brock, President & CEO of the Aluminum Association made an address as the representative of the U.S. aluminium producers.</p> <p><img style="vertical-align: middle; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="http://www.alcircle.com/uploads/images/heidi%20brock.jpg" alt="" width="480" height="360" /></p> <p>She started her address referring to the significance of a globally integrated aluminium industry and the quick expansion of aluminium industry around the world along with the growing demand. She called for better co-operation among global aluminium producers to benefit from this record growth in...
<p>China Hongqiao, which usurped state-backed Aluminium Corporation of China and Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska-controlled Rusal in the space of two years to become the world’s largest aluminium smelter last year, has run afoul of Chinese environmental regulations on over half of its capacity.<br /><br />Shandong province-based Hongqiao, 81 per cent-owned by tycoon Zhang Shiping, has been ordered by the environmental protection watchdog of Zhouping county of Binzhou city, where its facilities are located, to cease production at production lines with combined annual capacity of 3.61 million tonnes.<br /><br />The reason given for the penalty was “failure to obtain environmental protection approvals before building and operating the facilities”.<br /><br />The firm was...
<p>Vedanta Limited today announced consolidated results for the second financial quarter (Q2) ended 30 September 2016.<br /><br />For the aluminium sector, smelters continued to ramp-up. The company managed to maintain the production run-rate of 1.1mtpa (excluding trial run) and 1.2mtpa (including trial run).<br /><br />Commenting on the results, Tom Albanese, Chief Executive Officer, Vedanta Limited, said: "We have made significant operational progress this quarter, with an increase in production from Zinc India quarter-on- quarter…and Aluminium continuing to ramp-up. During the quarter, as a result of our improved operating performance and working capital initiatives, we maximised free cash flow…Simplifying the group structure continues to be a priority, and the Cairn...
<p>Emirates Global Aluminium has joined hands with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to work on new technologies that will further improve the Gulf aluminium producer's aluminium smelting processes. <br /><br />EGA has been an innovation-driven company since inception. Continuous R&D activities have helped it reach top quartile position in the aluminium industry. The EGA smelting process is a licensed technology today, followed globally. The coming together of the two prominent organizations is expected to open up new avenues for the industry.<br /><br /><img style="vertical-align: middle; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="http://www.alcircle.com/uploads/images/Smelting.jpg" alt="News" width="480" height="420" /><br /><br />The collaboration of EGA...
