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>State-owned aluminium producer National Aluminium Company (Nalco) is inching towards setting up its long-awaited second aluminium smelter and power complex in Odisha within the premises of its present plant at Angul at a total cost of INR 14,000 crore.<br /><br />Earlier, Nalco had identified Sunergarh in western Odisha as the preferred site for the new smelter, but then they zeroed in on Angul to cope with certain infrastructural bottlenecks. The aluminium smelter will have an annual capacity of 0.4 million tonne and will come up at an investment of INR 10,000 crore. It will be accompanied by a 500 Mw captive power plant costing INR 3,000 crore.<br /><br /><img style="vertical-align: middle; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"...
<p>As a continuation of the downturn of US primary industry Century Aluminium Company reported a net loss of $9.5 million ($0.11 per share) for Q2 2016. The adjusted net loss of second quarter was $4.6 million ($0.05 per share).<br /><br />For the second quarter of 2015, Century reported a net loss of $33.9 million ($0.39 per share) partially caused by permanent closure of our Ravenswood smelter and a $25.7 million charge for lower of cost or market inventory adjustments. Results were also negatively impacted by labour disruption at our Hawesville smelter.</p> <p> </p> <p><img style="vertical-align: middle; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="http://www.alcircle.com/uploads/images/centuryaluminum.jpeg" alt="News" width="448" height="336" /></p> <p><br />Total...
<p>Aluminium stocks in China’s five major markets are still on the decline even after touching 7-year low, SMM data showed. <br /><br />Arrivals remained low, and warehouse withdrawals were relatively strong, SMM learned. Some smelters said there are a large amount of ingots still on the way to south and east China.<br /><br />The table below shows details of aluminium stocks at China’s five major markets:<br /><br />Unit: 1,000 tonne</p> <p><br /><img style="vertical-align: middle;" src="http://www.alcircle.com/uploads/images/China%20Aluminium%20stocks.jpg" alt="News" width="552" height="108" /></p>
<p>SHFE 1609 aluminium will swing widely between RMB 12,220-12,420/mt, due to short covering at lows and profit taking by longs at highs. <br /><br />LME aluminium will move at USD 1,600-1,615/mt. <br /><br />In east China’s spot aluminium market, spot premiums of RMB 160-200/mt are expected over SHFE 1608 aluminium contract.<br /><br /><strong>Key macroeconomic indicators for base metal prices</strong><br /><br />The Bank of Japan will announce its interest rate decision today. Base metal volatility will rise today.<br /><br />Germany’s flash July CPI improved noticeably, with growth the most significant over the past month. But eurozone July expected inflation slid from June, while expected PPI also fell. As such, eurozone July’s flash CPI will unlikely improve...
<p>With worries regarding oversupply of from Chinese smelters growing graver, aluminium price took a plunge to hit its lowest in six weeks, only to be lifted by consumer buying to a certain extent. Other nonferrous metals were also weighed on by a stronger US dollar. <br /><br />Volumes of the light metal traded on London Metal Exchange were rather thin owing to the settling of summer slowdown and speculations revolving around prospective interest rate hikes by the US central banks in their upcoming meet.<br /><br /><img style="vertical-align: middle;" src="http://www.alcircle.com/uploads/images/aLUMINIUM%2028.7.16.jpg" alt="News" width="636" height="267" /><br /><br />Three month aluminium on LME closed unchanged at $1,592 a tonne, rebounding from $US1,588, the weakest since June 13.<br...
<p>Russian aluminium giant UC RUSAL yesterday announced its operating results for the second quarter of 2016. Aluminium production remained flat quarter-on-quarter totalling at 919 thousand tons. Smelters utilization of the group remained on average at 95 per cent. Production at the Siberian smelters accounted for the largest proportion, nearly 94 per cent, of total aluminium output.<br /><br /><img style="vertical-align: middle;" src="http://www.alcircle.com/uploads/images/RUSAL%20Aluminium%20results%202.jpg" alt="News" width="428" height="250" /><br /><br />RUSAL's total aluminium sales in 2Q16 totalled at 958 thousand tons (flat QoQ). The share of value added products (VAP), namely- aluminium alloyed ingots, aluminium slabs, billets and wire rod, in total aluminium sales increased to...
<p>The aluminium futures contract traded on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) plunged 3.6 per cent to close at INR 107.4 a kg last week.<br /><br />Significant resistance at around INR 111 which is also 50 per cent Fibonacci retracement level of the prior downtrend has been limiting the contract’s rally since late February.<br /><br />After testing this resistance for more than two week, the contract changed direction and started to decline in the previous week. This reversal in the contract is triggered by the negative divergence in the daily indicators such as price rate of change and moving average convergence divergence.<br /><br />The contract is in a near-term downtrend and currently tests a key support at INR 107 with a negative bias.<br /><br />On Wednesday, the contract...
<p>Alcoa Inc. announced today that it plans to undertake a reverse stock split of Alcoa’s common stock at a ratio of 1 for 3 and a proportionate reduction in the number of authorized shares of its common stock. The reverse stock split will reduce the number of Alcoa shares of common stock outstanding and is expected to increase the per share trading price of the common stock, which may improve liquidity and facilitate its trading.<br /><br />Alcoa will hold a special shareholder meeting on October 5, 2016 to seek approval of the reverse stock split and authorized share count reduction. Approval of both requires the affirmative vote of a majority of votes cast by shareholders entitled to vote. Alcoa has filed a preliminary proxy statement regarding the special meeting with the U.S....
<p>Aluminium prices, after holding ground for a month, took a nose-dive on London Metal Exchange, on Tuesday, while other base metals touched one-week lows as uncertainty swept across markets ahead of the U.S. central bank meeting and as worried investors took guard by selling to book profits from a recent commodity rally.<br /><br />The U.S. Federal Reserve, in its two-day meeting which starts on Tuesday, is expected to keep interest rates unchanged this week; however, analysts say there are possibilities that some policymakers would be arguing for a rate hike for the short term.<br /><br /><img style="vertical-align: middle;" src="http://www.alcircle.com/uploads/images/LME%20Aluminium%20prices.jpg" alt="News" width="848" height="418" /><br /><br />"These market worries about the...
<p>Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) is aiming at launching its certification program by the end of 2017. The ASI was launched in 2012 to promote sustainability and transparency throughout the aluminium industry. The organization is now working on developing required normative documents and the assurance model for a third party certification program for the aluminium value chain. They are also finalizing a draft chain-of-custody standard through a public consultation process which is scheduled to be started in October.<br /><br />The certificate program and the standard system need a range of normative documents to be prepared. These documents aim to describe and line up how ASI Certification will be designed and implemented and will be upgraded in future.</p> <p><img...
<p>On Monday’s night trading, SHFE 1609 aluminium fell to RMB 12,140/mt after opening at RMB 12,175/mt. Prices then rallied to RMB 12,205/mt, closing at RMB 12,200/mt. <br /><br />On Tuesday, short selling sent the most active contract down to RMB 12,115/mt after starting at RMB 12,195/mt. Finally, the contract ended at RMB 12,120/mt. Trading volumes were down 57,460 lots to 86,604 lots, and positions were down 1,404 to 181,170. <br /><br />Short selling was reported once prices climbed to near the daily moving average. SHFE 1609 aluminium will test support at RMB 12,000/mt.</p>
<p>Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) has received strong support from banks for a loan to part-finance its Line 6 expansion project and may increase the amount it borrows from an original $750 million target, its chief executive said on Tuesday.<br /><br />Alba will become the world's largest single aluminum smelter complex, boosting its annual output by 540,000 tonnes to 1.5 million tonnes per year by adding a sixth "potline", used in producing the metal from raw materials such as bauxite.<br /><br />The company is raising around $3 billion to help to finance the expansion, through a mixture of loans from banks and export credit agencies and an international bond or sukuk issue. Sources told Reuters last month Alba had approached banks to raise a $750 million loan as the first part of this.<br...
<p>The Aluminum Association and the Aluminum Association of Canada reported a total primary aluminium production at an annual rate of 3,957,851 tonnes in North America during June 2016. The rate reports a drop of 15,044 tpy (-0.4 per cent) from 3,972,895 tonnes in May 2016. The YoY comparison of the North American production shows a drop of 11.0 per cent from the June 2015 rate of 4,445,153 tonnes. The actual North American production was 2,029,686 metric tonnes during H1 2016.<br /><br /><img style="vertical-align: middle; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="http://www.alcircle.com/uploads/images/North%20America.jpg" alt="News" width="367" height="255" /><br /><br />The Aluminium Association of Canada additionally reported that the Canadian primary aluminium...
<p>SMM surveyed 44 Chinese aluminium smelters about their opinions over aluminium price outlook.<br /><br />About 32 per cent of them expect SHFE 1609 aluminium to fall below RMB 12,450/mt and LME aluminium below USD 1,600/mt, citing 4 reasons. First, many aluminium processors in Inner Mongolia and Henan shut down for rectifications because of environmental protection crackdowns, which will reduce aluminium demand. Second, July is the traditional off-season, with orders down significantly at aluminium processors. Third, output release from aluminium capacity restarted in April will add to market supply. Fourth, CFTC data showed net long positions of the US dollar hit one-year high. Strong dollar, plus weak crude oil, will pressure metals prices. <br /><br />Another 57 per cent...
<p>Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) has been named one of the top rapidly globalising companies in the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) 2016 Global Challengers report.<br /><br />The BCG Global Challengers report focuses on the innovative business models, strategies and challenges arising from emerging markets, said a statement from EGA.<br /><br />The report is the outcome of an analytical study into how the companies in the report are performing. As with prior editions it identifies the top 100 companies that are vying for leadership of key industries and driving global economic growth, it said.<br /><br /><img style="vertical-align: middle;" src="http://www.alcircle.com/uploads/images/EGA.jpg" alt="News" /><br /><br /> This is EGA’s second citing, having also been included in...
<p>Aluminium Bahrain (Alba), one of the largest aluminium smelters in the world, reported a 45.4 per cent decline in net profit in the second quarter of the current fiscal on Sunday. Alba's net income for the three months ended June 30 was BD 16.28 million ($43.2 million) compared to BD 29.8 million profit in the corresponding period previous year.<br /><br />Alba in its statement did not cite any reason for the decline, but the global downturn in aluminium prices which had led to the company's weak earnings in the last three quarters can be held responsible for the decline in net income.</p> <p><img style="vertical-align: middle; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="http://www.alcircle.com/uploads/images/alba25.7.16.jpg" alt="News" width="400" height="260" /><br...
<p>The Boards of Vedanta Limited, Cairn India Limited and Vedanta Resources announced the revised and final terms of the merger between Vedanta Limited and Cairn India as announced on 15 June 2015.</p> <p><img style="vertical-align: middle;" src="http://www.alcircle.com/uploads/images/Cairn_Vedanta.png" alt="News" width="867" height="290" /><br /><br />According to the new merger terms each Cairn India minority shareholder will receive against each equity share held:<br /> <br />• 1 equity share in Vedanta Limited<br />• 4 Redeemable Preference Shares worth INR 10 in Vedanta ltd, with a coupon of 7.5% for a tenure of 18 months <br />• Implied premium of 20% to one month VWAP of Cairn India share price.<br /> <br />The current commodity market situation further...
<p>Aluminium stocks in China’s five major markets continued falling after hitting their lowest in seven years, but a turning point is in sight, SMM understands.<br /><br />Heavy rains along the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River earlier are leaving some ingots still on the way, preventing arrivals from picking up noticeably, SMM learned.<br /><br />While rains have slowed down transport, more ingots will arrive once transport fully recovers. Aluminium consumption is unlikely to pick up markedly in the short term. As such, total aluminium stocks in domestic five major markets will begin to see a turning point for the foreseeable future, SMM predicts.<br /><br />The table below shows details of aluminium stocks at China’s five major markets:<br /><br /><img...
