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>Aluminium prices on the LME and SHFE will consolidate at current highs while searching for direction next week, SMM foresees.</p> <p>SMM sees ME aluminium between $1,630-1,680 per tonne and SHFE 1610 aluminium between 12,100-12,500 yuan per tonne. Low aluminium stocks in China will offer support to SHFE aluminium.</p> <p>Spot aluminium in east China market is expected to trade at premiums of 100-150 yuan per tonne over SHFE 1609 aluminium.</p>
<p>At least two traders have approached two or more Japanese buyers for sale of primary aluminium ingot for the fourth quarter of 2016, ahead of producers expected to arrive in Japan in the week of August 22, sources said Wednesday.<br /><br />Offers were not specific yet as the traders appeared to be not in a hurry to close deals.<br /><br />One buyer said he was indicated a sell interest in the range of $68-$70/mt plus London Metal Exchange cash, CIF Japan, for over 500 mt of P1020A-grade aluminium ingot over October to December.<br /><br />Origins are at sellers’ options, but are to be either Australian, Malaysian, Brazilian, South African, Middle Eastern, or of North American origins.<br /><br />Another Japanese buyer said discussions centred on general market outlook rather...
<p>Indian aluminium producer Hindalco, the Aditya Birla flagship company reported the result of Q1 on August 12 and registered a more than four four-fold jump in standalone net profit to INR 294 crore from INR 61.10 crore in the same period of 2015. It was the company’s better operational performance which pulled through the quarter with such huge profit. </p> <p>The total standalone income of the company dropped by 11 per cent to INR 7,716,53 crore from INR 8,667 crore during the same period of 2015. Total expenses of the company declined to INR 6,703.82 crore from INR 7,993.05 crore after the implementation of a number of cost control measures. </p> <p>In their press release the company said that revenues were hit due to a "sharp decline in realisations",...
<p>Portland aluminium smelter’s future is hinged on the decision of one of its three owners- whether to terminate the supply contract it has with its power supplier or not, reported individuals who are aware of the developments in the Victoria plant. The decision, if taken, will put as many as 2000 jobs - direct and indirect at risk. Ripple effects of the closure are to be felt in a much promiment manner since the smelter consumes around 10 per cent of Victoria's entire electricity output.<br /><br />The move follows the decision of the Victoria government earlier this year to not extend subsidies provided to keep the plant in operation. The fixed subsidy which is inplace since lat two decades expires in Novemberthis year.<br /><br /><img style="vertical-align: middle; display:...
<p>Aluminium stocks in China’s five major markets began growing for the second time in nearly five months and saw their biggest weekly growth since mid-March, SMM data showed.<br /><br />It needs to be pointed out, though, that total stocks remain the lowest since March 2009 and down as much as 750,000 tonnes from last August, SMM added.<br /><br />The table below shows details of aluminium stocks at China’s five major markets:<br /><br />Unit: 1,000 tonne<br /><br /></p> <p><img style="vertical-align: middle;" src="http://www.alcircle.com/uploads/images/China%20stocks.jpg" alt="News" width="550" height="182" /></p>
<p>Ma’aden Aluminum, a joint venture of Saudi Arabian Mining Company "Ma’aden" and Alcoa, announced that its smelter & cast house has been awarded the ISO 9001:2015 which is the latest version of the accredited standard & specifications certificate of quality management published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).<br /><br /><img style="vertical-align: middle; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="http://www.alcircle.com/uploads/images/Maaden.jpg" alt="News" width="500" height="334" /><br /><br />Eng. Abdulaziz Al Harbi, Ma’aden Aluminum CEO, highlighted that this achievement demonstrates Ma’aden Aluminium’s commitment to innovation and to meeting the changing needs and expectations of its customers....
<p>Tajikistan produced 73.1 thousand tonnes of aluminium, in the first half of the current financial year, a 13.6-percent increase compared to the corresponding period previous year, reported industry sources citing Umed Davlatzod, deputy minister of economic development and trade of Tajikistan.<br /><br />Davlatzod said, Tajikistan plans to produce a total volume of 156 thousand tonnes of aluminium this year, 16.4 thousand tons more than last year. <br /><br />The demand for aluminium in the international markets has been decreasing mainly due to the state of economies in developed countries where aluminium finds wide scale use in the automotive sector. Decreasing metal demand leads to falling prices and production decrease. In general, the world prices for Tajikistan’s main...
<p>LME aluminium will range USD 1,635-1,655/mt today with resistance at USD 1,650/mt and technical side trending negative.<br /><br />SHFE 1610 aluminium will struggle between RMB 12,300-12,500/mt. <br /><br />In east China’s spot aluminium market, spot premiums of RMB 0-40/mt are expected over SHFE 1608 aluminium contract. Supply stays abundant while demand is soft, leading to oversupply pressure. <br /><br /><strong>Key macroeconomic indicators for base metal prices</strong><br /><br />Swing trend will continue on base metal market on Thursday with focus on China’s social financing for July and new RMB loans, and US last week’s initial jobless claims.<br /><br />Housing sales in China slow further in July and falling demand for housing loans will lead to declines in...
<p>Aluminium giant Alcoa is nearing its spin-off scheduled for the second half of 2016. The strategic decision of the company has been received well by its investors ever since it was announced last September. Shares of Alcoa have surged more than 14 per cent. However, there remain many regulatory hurdles that the company need to cross before it can effectuate the split. <br /><br />The split will result in creation of a commodity-focussed business which will retain Alcoa's name and will include five upstream segments namely- Bauxite, Alumina, Aluminium, Cast Products and Energy (and a part of the Rolled Products business); and a value-added focussed company called Arconic. It will operate segments such as Transportation, Construction Solutions, Engineered Products and Solutions and...
<p>If the European Commission grants China Market Economy Status (MES) the consequences for the EU aluminium sector will be enormous, an industry group has said. The EU executive said last month that it would focus on new measures to tackle Chinese dumping and illegal subsidies, but won’t decide whether China’s economy is market-driven.<br /><br />MES is controversial because, if granted, trade partners will have to treat China as a free market equal when it comes to settling disputes.<br /><br />Gerd Götz, director general of trade association European Aluminium, recently said that the EU steel crisis has skewed the debate on China’s MES and distracted Brussels from other European industries, such as the aluminium sector, which could face the same fate.<br /><br...
<p>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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.</p>...
<p>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. <br /><br />Coal reserves in Xinjiang are estimated at 2.19 trillion tonnes, claiming over 40% of national reserves, Huatai Futures said.<br /><br />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. <br /><br />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...
<p>SMM surveyed 44 Chinese aluminium smelters about their opinions over aluminium price outlook.<br /><br />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. </p> <p>Another 25% expect SHFE 1610 aluminium...
<p>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. <br /><br />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. <br /><br />“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.<br /><br /><img style="vertical-align: middle;" src="http://www.alcircle.com/uploads/images/bnr-aluminum-european-premium-459x293.jpg" alt="News" width="459" height="293"...
<p>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).<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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...
<p>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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.</p> <p><img style="vertical-align: middle; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="http://www.alcircle.com/uploads/images/lme.jpg" alt="News" width="512" height="288" /><br /><br />The LME said late on...
<p>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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br /><img style="vertical-align: middle; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"...
<p>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.<br /><br />Aluminium inventories in Shanghai Futures Exchange warehouses fell to the lowest in August 1st week since 2011.</p> <p><img style="vertical-align: middle;" src="http://www.alcircle.com/uploads/images/LME%20INVENTORY.png" alt="News" width="512" height="366" /><br /><br />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...
