National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO) expects revenue to reach INR 190-200 billion (USD 2.29–2.41 billion) in the current year, supported by higher alumina production and stronger aluminium prices, while an INR 250-billion (USD 3.01 billion) expansion programme is set to reshape its upstream, smelting and power capacities by FY31. The state-owned aluminium producer expects revenue to increase from approximately INR 178 billion (USD 2.14 billion) last year as its new refinery capacity lifts alumina production and higher aluminium prices support realisations. NALCO Chairman and Managing Director Brijendra Prasad Singh attributed the revenue outlook to these two factors. INR 250 billion capex to expand aluminium value chain NALCO is simultaneously advancing a INR 250-crore (USD 3.01...
According to SMM statistics, changes in aluminium ingot and aluminium billet (collectively referred to as aluminium inventory) inventories in major consumption areas in China around the National Day holiday, 2020-2026: overall destocking before the holiday, with the most concentrated inventory buildup during the holiday. During the one-week National Day holiday from 2020 to 2025, aluminium ingots, aluminium billets, and total aluminium inventory all saw inventory buildup (aluminium ingots up 4.0 per cent -17.3 per cent, aluminium billets up 12.7 per cent -66.0 per cent, total aluminium inventory up 6.9 per cent -21.2 per cent ). In the second week after the holiday, aluminium ingots did not see further inventory buildup except in 2021, while aluminium billets destocked in all six years....
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Aluminium on London metal Exchange (LME) may break resistance at $1,515 per tonne and rise towards the resistance range of $1,532-$1,548, as indicated by its wave pattern and a Fibonacci projection analysis. Resistance is provided by the 114.6 percent Fibonacci projection level of a downtrend from the October 9 high of $1,646. The trend could be broken down into five small waves, with the fourth wave having peaked around $1,548, the 86.4 percent level. Wave theory suggests this peak may be approached. However, the target at $1,548 could only be confirmed when aluminium overcomes resistance at $1,532, the 100 percent level. Support is at $1,505, the 123.6 percent level, a break below which could lead to a loss to the 138.2 percent level at $1,488.
China imported 10,600 mt of primary aluminum in September, down 11,200 million tonnes (mt) MoM, but up 97.93% YoY, customs data showed. The MoM decline is due to lower SHFE/LME aluminum price ratio. In September, tolling trade remained the major trade mode, and aluminum ingot imported not via tolling trade was rarely sold in China’s domestic market. Aluminum premiums in Japan fell to USD 90/mt in late October, down USD 10/mt from August. Despite falling aluminum premiums overseas, supply glut in domestic market and a 17% VAT will offer little incentive to import. This, combined with further decline in the SHFE/LME aluminum price ratio, means that imports will continue falling in October.
Orders to remove aluminum from warehouses tracked by the biggest metals exchange rose for a third day, the longest stretch in more than a year, prompting traders to close out bearish bets on prices that are near a six-year low. Canceled warrants, as the bookings are known, surged 21 percent in the past three days to 1.1 million metric tons (mt), the highest in five weeks, London Metal Exchange (LME) data show. While the market is in surplus, the bookings are probably a sign that supplies are tightening and have spurred traders to cover positions on further price declines, according to ICBC Standard Bank Plc. "It’s unlikely to be related to real demand," Leon Westgate, an analyst at ICBC Standard Bank in London, said by phone. "With the large tonnages like that, it’s likely to be...
Global aluminium producer Rusal has completed preparation of a testing site for the RA-550 reduction cell. Prior to this, the Russia-based company completed engineering works and plans to commission the first cell in the third quarter of 2016. According to Rusal, the RA-550 cell development is aimed at achieving better levels of technical and economic performance in aluminium smelting. Rusal technical director Viktor Mann said: "RA-550 is a reduction cell with a breakthrough design for future smelters and upgrade projects at Rusal's existing smelting capacities. Alongside the technical and process standards, it is a compulsory requirement for any modern production facility to comply with health and safety standards and to minimise hazardous emissions into the atmosphere. So, all...
Aluminum companies across the United States have come forward to form a new coalition aimed at fighting trade practices by China they think will cause potential damage to the U.S. aluminum indusrty in as little as eight to nine months. The coalition holds China responsible for heavily subsidizing its aluminum production that is causing a situation of oversupply in the global market resulting in price fall unlike ever before. The group comprising several aluminium producers is headed by embattled Century Aluminum, which posted a significant quarterly loss of $51.6 million last week and recently cut down production at its Kentucky plant. The coalition argues that China’s subsidization violates World Trade Organization rules. “As such, USTR should invoke its rights under the WTO and request...
AluSolutions 2016, the only free exhibition and conference addressing sustainability challenges in aluminium production and processing, has announced Dr Fiona Solomon, Executive Director of the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative(ASI), as a keynote speaker. Dr Solomon brings nearly 20 years of experience in sustainability and corporate social responsibility to her role at the ASI and will present on how the industry can address the environmental, social and governance aspects of the aluminium value chain. Other speakers will include a representative from European Aluminium, Melanie Williams, Graham Bruce from Taha International Corporation, as well as a representative from the Bureau for Middle East Recycling. With more speakers still to be announced, organiser Quartz Business Media is...
Lightweight metals leader Alcoa announced that it is taking decisive action to curtail uncompetitive smelting and refining capacity to ensure continued competitiveness amid prevailing market conditions. The company will reduce aluminum smelting capacity by 503,000 metric tons and alumina refining capacity by 1.2 million metric tons. Alcoa will begin the curtailments in the fourth quarter of 2015 and will complete them by the end of the first quarter of 2016. The reductions will further improve the cost position of the Upstream business and ensure competitiveness in a lower pricing environment, including a 30 percent drop in the Midwest transaction aluminum price year-to-date. Alcoa has been aggressively reshaping its Upstream portfolio as part of a successful multi-year strategy to...
Amid accusations made by the US trade associations and other market bodies that China might be violating international trade regulations and fair competition norms, the world’s largest aluminium producing country is yet again set to unleash fresh loads of aluminium onto the global market. This comes in the wake of the Chinese government offering lower power tariffs to the country’s dying smelters in an effort buoy the slowing economy. Electricity being the single most crucial factor in aluminium smelter operation is expected to lower the cost of production significantly thereby helping the producers to stay economically viable in the short to medium term. China is already producing excess aluminium and offloading it onto the world markets. This breather from the country’s top authorities...
Electricity is the lifeblood of aluminium production. Long - term certainty of supply and a competitive electricity price are crucial to unleash the growth potential of the industry in Europe. European Aluminium welcomes the planned reform of the EU Electricity Market Design as an opportunity to accelerate the transition towards a more decentralised, low-carbon and competitive electricity market in Europe. This should go hand in hand with the creation of a compensation scheme that lifts the burden of indirect carbon costs passed on to Europe’s Aluminium producers. Aluminium smelters offer great benefits to the power system, such as the ability to balance supply and demand. Their flexibility to reduce electricity consumption as needed contributes to grid stability and helps tackle...
National Aluminium Company Ltd. (Nalco) was earlier reported to have planned to invest US$2.80 billion to build an integrated aluminium roject in either Iran or Oman. In a recent update, the company sources divulged that the proposed 5 lakh tonne-per-year smelter, which will also include a captive power plant, will run on surplus alumina from Nalco's existing and proposed Indian refineries. The planned aluminium smelter will cater to the markets for value-added products, primarily from the automobile industries in South Asia, Southeast Asia, Europe and the US. The public sector company has free cash reserves of INR 17,000 crore; and this project has been conceived based on these strong financial credentials. As per the update, Nalco would consider various parameters for the captive power...
Century aluminium Co, controlled by Glencore Plc, said it will curtail one of three potlines at its Sebree, Kentucky, aluminium smelter by December 31, the company's third capacity reduction in two months as weak prices bite. The curtailment will reduce the 210,000 tonne-per-year plant's capacity by around 70,000 tonnes and comes just one week after it announced plans to close its 224,000-tonne Mount Holly, South Carolina, smelter by Dec. 31 if it does not receive a favorable power deal. Century blamed the need to close the Sebree potline on low aluminium prices due to Chinese overcapacity and rising exports, resulting in a sharp drop in aluminium futures and the premiums paid for physical delivery of the metal have fallen sharply, harming producers. In late August, it announced plans to...
Aluminium on London Metal Exchange (LME) will have little chance of a rally this week, SMM said last week, Friday. The US dollar will stay elevated on US Fed’s hawkish tone, and SHFE aluminium will remain in downward track, boding ill for LME aluminium. Also, LME aluminium has met strong resistance at the 5-day moving average. The metal on London exchange is expected to retest resistance at $1,488 per tonne, as it has completed a downtrend from the October 9 high of $1,646. The trend could be broken down into five small waves, signaling its completion. This explains why the metal could stabilise around support at $1,462, the 161.8 percent Fibonacci projection level of the trend. The consolidation above this support strongly suggests the formation of a bottom, which will be followed by a...
Aluminium prices were down 0.78 per cent to INR 95.30 per kg in futures trade today as investors reduced exposures amid weak global cues and sluggish demand in the domestic spot markets. At the Multi Commodity Exchange, aluminium for delivery in November eased by 75 paise, or 0.78 per cent, to INR 95.30 per kg, in a business turnover of 416 lots. Similarly, the metal for delivery in October was trading lower by 70 paise, or 0.74 per cent, at INR 93.90 per kg in 513 lots. Marketmen said the weakness in aluminium at futures trade was mostly in tune with a weak trend at London Metal Exchange (LME) as industrial metals weakened after hints of an interest rate hike in December by the US Federal Reserve boosted the dollar and diminishing commodities appeal.
A helping hand from the Chinese goverment to the slowing economy in the form of cheaper power tariffs may result in further plummeting of aluminum prices, worsening a glut that is already threatening aluminium producers worldwide. On-grid power tariffs in China may be reduced as soon as next month to benefit industrial users and bolster growth. The cut to the price the state grid pays to power generators for electricity would likely be passed on to consumers, according to the analysts. For smelters hooked up to state supplies, which account for a quarter of capacity, that could cut costs by 375 yuan ($59) a metric ton, they observed. Aluminum is the second-worst base-metal performer over the past year as supplies top demand and investors desert commodities, with benchmark prices in London...
Aluminum Corp of China (Chinalco) has delayed a planned shutdown of metal production at its Liancheng aluminium smelter after authorities agreed to offer electricity at a cheaper rate. Chinalco, China's biggest aluminium and alumina producer, had planned to shutdown its Gansu aluminium smelter two weeks ago due to high cost of production and low metal prices. But industry sources said, the local government and the state electricty authority have urged the aluminium manufacturer to keep producing, given the country's slowing growth scenario, and offered lower power tariffs so that it is easier to cope with the rising COP, which stands somewhere around 13,000 yuan a tonne. Nevertheless, the company would stop metal production, cheaper electricity or no electricity; but that would be...
Governor Nikki Haley, South Carolina, said Wednesday, October 28, that the state has done all it can to keep Century Aluminum from closing its Berkeley County smelter and laying off 600 workers as a contractual impasse between the company and its power provider enters its final weeks. “The main thing we can’t do is choose one business over another or do special favors for anyone,” Haley said during a visit to Goose Creek. Haley and state Commerce Secretary Bobby Hitt “pushed as hard as we could” to strike a deal with Century Aluminum, she said, “but we can’t go beyond what’s fair.” Century Aluminum said last week it will close its Mount Holly plant by the end of this year if state-owned utility Santee Cooper does not agree to a plan in which Century would buy its electricity from an...
Century Aluminum Company reported a net loss of $56.1 million ($0.65 per common share) for the third quarter of 2015. Results were negatively impacted by a $5.3 million charge ($0.06 per common share) for lower of cost or market inventory adjustments, a $0.4 million charge ($0.01 per common share) related to the closure at Ravenswood, a $1.4 million charge ($0.02 per common share) related to the labor disruption at Hawesville, a $2.9 million charge ($0.04 per common share) related to the partial curtailment at Hawesville, and a $1.2 million charge ($0.01 per common share) related to severance primarily associated with cost reductions. Results were positively impacted by an $0.8 million purchase accounting gain ($0.01 per common share) related to Mt. Holly. After consideration of these...
The Aluminum Association announced membership growth, additions to its board, and the election of a new Chairman on Thursday, October 29. In addition, the Association announced the winner of the 2015 Marlan A. Boultinghouse Award, the highest award given by the North American industry. The announcements were made during the Aluminum Association’s annual meeting - “Aluminum Country” - in Nashville, TN. “This is an exciting time for the North American aluminum industry with strong demand growth and domestic expansion,” said newly elected Association Chairman Garney Scott, President & CEO of Scepter, Inc. “But serious challenges remain and it will take the combined efforts of the membership, through the Aluminum Association, to seize the opportunity in North America.” Garney Scott, President...
