Aluminium prices gained 0.43 per cent as reduced Gulf production and low exchange inventories supported the market, while Chinese output and capacity restarts could limit further gains. Aluminium prices settled 0.43 per cent higher at INR 348.65 (USD 3.63) as tight physical supply conditions supported the market. Disruptions linked to the US-Iran tensions have affected aluminium availability from the Gulf region, with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) production falling 44 per cent year-on-year in July. Low exchange inventories have added to supply concerns. London Metal Exchange (LME) stocks remained near a 36-year low, while inventories on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) declined 4.7 per cent from the previous week. However, expectations of improving supply have limited the market’s...
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...
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<p>The Board of Directors of Alcoa has declared following dividends for the quarter ended June 30, 2016:<br /><br />i. A quarterly common stock dividend of 3 cents per share payable August 25, 2016 to holders of record of the common stock at the close of business on August 5, 2016.<br /><br />ii. A dividend of 93.75 cents per share on Alcoa’s $3.75 cumulative preferred stock (“Class A Stock”) payable October 1, 2016 to holders of record of the Class A Stock at the close of business on September 9, 2016.<br /><br />iii. A dividend of $6.71875 per share on Alcoa’s 5.375 per cent Class B Mandatory Convertible Preferred Stock (“Class B Stock”) payable October 1, 2016 to holders of record of the Class B Stock at the close of business on September 15,...
<p>The Hong Kong Stock Exchange's planned move to link with London Metal Exchange has been put on hold due to Britain's recent exit from the European Union. <br /><br />The HKEX's decision to enter into a commodities clearing link with its London Metal Exchange (LME) was aimed at making LME more profitable.</p> <p>However, the planned link-up would now have to wait due to the uncertainty created by the vote last month, said Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd. Chief Executive Charlies Li.</p>
<p>China Aluminum International Trading Co. (Chalco Trading) further cut aluminium prices in major markets today, marking its 7th consecutive day of cuts, it said on its WeChat. <br /><br />For details, please see the table below: <br /><br />Unit: yuan/tonne<br /><br /><img style="vertical-align: middle; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="http://www.alcircle.com/uploads/images/Chalco22072016.jpg" alt="News" width="347" height="107" /> <br /><br />Note: Chalco Trading is a full subsidiary under Chalco responsible for alumina and aluminium sales.</p>
<p>Strengthening Chinese demand led Norsk Hydro, one of the world's largest aluminium producers, to raise its forecast for global aluminium demand growth this year to 4-5 percent as it reported forecast-beating earnings on Thursday. The company's global aluminium demand forecast, revised up from 3-4 percent, is now closer to peer Alcoa's forecast of 5 percent.<br /><br />Norsk Hydro said it saw stronger Chinese economic activity than previously anticipated and now expected aluminium demand in the country to grow 5-7 percent in 2016, up from a previous forecast of 3-5 percent.<br /><br />"(In China) we see aluminium moving into infrastructure, but also very much into building and construction," Chief Executive Svein Richard Brandtzaeg said while presenting second-quarter results.<br /><br...
<p>Norsk Hydro reports its Second quarter 2016 results. Hydro's underlying EBIT rose to NOK 1,618 million in Q2 from NOK 1,501 million in Q1 2016. The increase was due to higher realized alumina and aluminium prices and higher sales volumes, slightly offset by currency developments.<br /><br />"We have lifted annual global aluminium demand growth forecast to 4-5 percent for 2016, up from previous forecast 3-4 percent. Higher-than-expected activity in China means that we now see primary aluminium demand in China alone to grow by 5-7 percent in 2016. Globally, we expect a largely balanced aluminium market for the full year, "says President and CEO Svein Richard Brandtzæg. <br /><br /><img style="vertical-align: middle; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"...
<p>Jiaozuo Wanfang Aluminum Co., one of the subsidiaries of Aluminum Corporation of China Limited (Chalco), announced yesterday that production at its aluminum smelting plant has been severely affected by flood. <br /><br />All the facilities were flooded, resulting in a prolonged power outage. Jiaozuo Wanfang Aluminum estimates around 50,000 tonnes of aluminium output was affected due to flood. <br /><br />According to the company sources, a major portion of water in the plant has already been drained and production is expected to resume within two months.<br /><br />Jiaozuo Wanfang Aluminum Co. mainly deals is aluminum smelting and captive power generation. They also have downstream operations and manufactures a wide range of aluminum alloy products.</p>
<p>LME aluminium suffered a 4-day losing streak and will fall further to USD 1,605-1,630/mt today, with eyes on the ECB meeting. <br /><br />SHFE 1609 aluminium has stabilized at above the 40-day and 60-day moving averages, and will rise to RMB 12,300-12,450/mt. In China’s spot aluminium market, spot premiums of RMB 40-80/mt are expected over SHFE 1608 aluminium contract.<br /><br /><strong>Key macroeconomic indicators for base metal prices</strong> <br /><br />Diverging trend will continue on base metal market on Thursday with eyes on rate decision by the ECB, US June existing home sales and July Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia manufacturing index. <br /><br />US Federal Reserve Bank of New York manufacturing index weakened significantly in July. Should the Federal Reserve...
<p>Stock markets across the globe are finally showing some signs of stabilization after a prolonged hiatus of almost two years which saw investors struggling to make money off the stocks. Though a sharp fall was recorded all over following Brexit, but the sell-off did not persist for long.<br /><br />The recovery was fast and investors turned all the more positive about global economy.<br /><br /><img style="vertical-align: middle;" src="http://www.alcircle.com/uploads/images/Primary21072016.png" alt="News" width="512" height="267" /> <br /><br />Analysts at Metal Miner took a cue from the above chart, where the S&P 500 index can be seen touching an all-time high this week. According to them, an uptrend in stock markets doesn't necessarily indicate at rising commodity and metal...
<p>The European Commission proposed a deal for the steel sector in exchange for granting China the much sought after Market Economy Status (MES). This approach was debated by the College of Commissioners on July 20. <span id=":j7.co" class="tL8wMe EMoHub" style="text-align: left;" dir="ltr">The European Aluminium Association is of the view that the proposal ignores the huge Chinese overcapacities in industries like aluminium and creates unfair distortions on the EU market.</span><br /><br />European Aluminium Director General, Gerd Götz believed that the European Commission proposal to grant MES to China would go against the stand of their trading partners in the US against granting the MES to China. The US has warned China about not resorting to fair trade practise to...
<p>Power transmission system of Kitmat is undergoing a massive upgrade. BC Hydro has been roped in to replace the transmission lines (between Terrace and Kitimat) that has reached end of life. The new transmission will ensure undisrupted flow of electricity between the two regions. Nevertheless, Kitimat Mayor Phil Germuth is known to be a bit wary of the overhaul project, as he thinks that operations at Rio Tinto's aluminium smelter which runs in with the power supplied by the Kemano Hydro Electric plant might get affected due to this in the long run.</p> <p><img style="vertical-align: middle; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="http://www.alcircle.com/uploads/images/kitimat_transmission_line20072016.jpg" alt="Kitimat New Transmission Line " width="450"...
<p>The largest aluminium smelter in Australia, Boyne Smelters Limited could be put up for sale again by Rio Tinto, according to analysis by UBS. Plans for selling two other Australian smelters are also said to be there on the cards. The move on the part of Rio Tinto could be aimed at selling off "non-core assets" such as aluminium smelters to focus on iron ore business, the analysis observes.<br /><br /><img style="vertical-align: middle;" src="http://www.alcircle.com/uploads/images/Boyne_Smelters20072016.jpg" alt="News" width="1600" height="1065" /> <br /><br />Ever since Rio Tinto chief executive officer Jean-Sebastien Jacques assumed his office on July 3, he has been focused on streamlining Rio's business. "Jean-Sebastien Jacques has delivered about 70 per centof Rio's divestments...
<p>Ron Knapp, Secretary General of the International Aluminium Institute (IAI) paid a two-day visit to Shandong Weiqiao Pioneering Group during July 14-15, cnal.com reported. <br /><br />Zhang Bo, Vice Chairman of Weiqiao Group, said two subsidiaries of the group were included in the list of top three energy-efficiency leaders in China’s aluminium industry. <br /><br />While the group’s advantage in power tariffs has weakened due to declines of average power costs in domestic aluminium industry last year, the group has managed to maintain the lowest production cost in the industry. This is thanks mainly to its complete value chain and technical strength.<br /><br />Weiqiao Group will step up R&D, optimize production technology, as well as try to maintain its status as...
<p>China Aluminum International Trading Co. (Chalco Trading) further cut aluminium prices in major markets today, marking its 6th consecutive day of cuts, it said on its WeChat. <br /><br />For details, please see the table below:</p> <p><img style="vertical-align: middle; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="http://www.alcircle.com/uploads/images/Chalco20072016.jpg" alt="News" width="337" height="100" /><br />Note: Chalco Trading is a full subsidiary under Chalco responsible for alumina and aluminium sales.</p> <p><span style="border-radius: 2px; text-indent: 20px; width: auto; padding: 0px 4px 0px 0px; text-align: center; font: bold 11px/20px 'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,sans-serif; color: #ffffff; background: #bd081c...
<p>State-run National Aluminium Company Limited (Nalco) has inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Union Ministry of Mines, India, to meet an ambitious revenue target of INR 7,100 crore (excluding excise duty) from its operations, the company said in a release. The Mou was signed between Dr Tapan Kumar Chand, CMD of Nalco and Balvinder Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Mines, in New Delhi yesterday.</p> <p><img style="vertical-align: middle; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="http://www.alcircle.com/uploads/images/NALCO20072016.jpg" alt="news" width="400" height="400" /></p> <p><br />The MoU, formulated as per the new set of guidelines of the Department of Public Enterprises, will be finalised only after discussions with both the Ministry of Mines and an...
Rio Tinto releases its second quarter production results on July 19 2016. Commenting on the result, Chief Executive J-S Jacques said, “Rio Tinto has delivered another robust quarter of operational performance. We continue to focus on value and maximising cash flow from our assets, through both commercial and operational excellence while maintaining capital discipline. This will ensure that Rio Tinto is well-positioned to generate compelling and consistent returns for our shareholders.” Here is a highlight of its Aluminium section results: • Rio Tinto announced its new organisational structure on June 21 2016. The Group will have four product groups: Aluminium, Copper & Diamonds, Energy & Minerals and Iron Ore, complemented by a newly-shaped Growth & Innovation group. • Rio reports nine...
The restart of mothballed aluminium smelting capacity in China will likely be concentrated in the fourth quarter when the current slack domestic buying season is over, the China Aluminium Association said. Falling refined aluminium prices last year led to many smelters in China halting production or cutting output. But with domestic aluminium prices at Yuan 12,740/mt ($1,911/mt) as of end-June, up Yuan 1,790/mt from January, and reports this week of a shortage of aluminium ingot as more companies buy molten aluminium, so the sector will start to put unused capacity back into production, the CAA said. While ingots are more easily delivered, molten aluminium can save Yuan 800-Yuan 1,200/mt ($120-$180/mt), boosting smelters’ profits and meaning ever more new aluminium smelting capacity in...
Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden) has announced the consolidated interim financial statements for the quarter and six months period ended June 30 2016. During the quarter under review, Maaden posted strong operational results across all its business verticals with higher production volume in aluminium as compared to the first quarter of 2016. Primary aluminium production in second quarter 2016 stood at 220 kilo tonnes, up six per cent from the previous quarter. Maaden attributed the increase in production to mainly increased operational efficiency and additional metal sourced from the company’s recycling facility. Maaden's quarterly net profit declined 51 per cent year-on-year and 21 per cent quarter-on-quarter, while, six-month profit slid 43 per cent year-on-year due to lower...
Indian aluminium industry is on a strong growth trajectory. Piggybacking buoyancy in the power and automotive sectors, the light metal used in appliances to aerospace, grew at a CAGR (compounded annual growth rate) of eight per cent during 2011-16. The same uptrend is expected to continue till 2020. The ‘Make in India’ drive will provide a further boost to the demand catapulting it to a level of five million tonnes (mt) by 2020 and eight mt by 2025 from the current 3.2 mt. According to the Aluminium Association of India (AAI) and Crisil Research data, aluminium usage in India would scale higher on the back of increased power demand from 290 Giga watt (Gw) currently to 360 Gw by 2020-21. Auto industry demand too is projected to reach 38 million units by 2020-2021, up from 25 million units...
