The US September consumer confidence index plunged 6.7 points to 81.9, the lowest since 2014 and deteriorating across the board. The University of Michigan survey showed consumers' assessments of their current financial situation and that one year ahead both fell about 10 per cent, with high-price concerns continuing to brew. Inflation pressure showed no signs of easing. US Fed Governor Cook said AI demand growth, rising oil prices, and supply chain disruptions from Middle East conflicts would keep inflation under pressure, but gave no clear guidance on rate hikes. CME data showed the market-implied probability of a 25 bp rate hike in October had risen to 70.9 per cent, and the probability of a cumulative 50 bp hike by December reached 58.7 per cent. Tightening expectations strengthened...
The proposed Srikakulam aluminium smelter project in Andhra Pradesh is gaining momentum, with around 6,800 acres of saline land earmarked at Mulapeta and Pundi for the large-scale industrial development. The proposal could also bridge Odisha’s alumina industry with Andhra Pradesh’s coastal port infrastructure, forming a potential industrial link between the two states. Union Minister for Civil Aviation Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu discussed the proposed smelter with Union Minister for Mines G Kishan Reddy in Delhi, highlighting the availability of around 6,800 acres of saline land in Srikakulam district. Out of this, 5,000 acres are located in Mulapeta and 1,800 acres in Pundi. Explore the production, demand and consumption forecasts of bauxite and alumina in our report: “ Global Bauxite &...
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Malaysian Rating Corporation Bhd (MARC) has affirmed the rating of BBB on Press Metal Bhd's RM320.50mil loan stocks while the rating outlook is maintained at negative. The rating agency said on Thursday the rating involved the integrated aluminium producer's RM320.5mil redeemable convertible secured loan stocks (RCSLS). "The rating outlook is maintained at negative. The rating action reflects the difficult operating environment for aluminium manufacturers, the group's continued weak liquidity position and its significant leverage position arising from the sizeable debt incurred to fund the construction of its smelting plants," it said. MARC pointed out Press Metal continues to be affected by weak aluminium prices and excess global capacity. Press Metal is involved in aluminium smelting...
Aluminium company Hydro and Rio Tinto Alcan (RTA) have signed an agreement for Hydro to take over RTA's share of the aluminium smelter Sør-Norge Aluminium AS (Søral) in Norway. Following the closing of the agreement, the plant will become Hydro's fifth fully owned aluminium smelter in Norway. Søral is a primary aluminium plant situated in Husnes at the Norwegian west coast, with an annual production capacity of about 180,000 metric tons primary aluminium. The plant, which has been operated as a standalone unit, idled one of its two production lines in 2009, and is currently producing around 90,000 tons annually. Søral has 230 employees, and has prior to the agreement been owned by Rio Tinto Alcan (50 percent) and Hydro (49.9 percent). "We believe in the Norwegian aluminium industry. Søral...
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba) would like to express its sincere thanks to His Royal Highness The Prime Minister, Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa and His Royal Highness, The Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Premier, Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa for their continuous support to Alba and for granting their approval to provide the natural gas allocation for Alba’s Line 6 expansion project, as stated by Alba’s Chairman of Board of Directors, Shaikh Daij Bin Salman Bin Daij Al Khalifa. Adding further, Shaikh Daij Bin Salman Bin Daij Al Khalifa said: “We are very pleased with this announcement and express our profound gratitude to the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain for its commitment to further develop the Aluminium Industry in Bahrain. The Line 6...
A total of 64,000-tpy inefficient aluminum capacity will be phased out in 2014 in Tai’an, Shandong province, local media reported. In accordance with local government’s plan, such elimination efforts will be also adopted in steel, cement, and tyre sectors, it added. Approximately 600,000 tonnes of steel capacity will be also eliminated this year.
Aluminium producer Alcoa will in future warn investors about the risks proposed warehousing rules could pose to its business, saying they could affect its finances and the premiums it charges, according to correspondence with regulators. In a reply to queries from the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Alcoa said warehousing reforms could push more aluminium onto the physical market, weighing down the premiums paid by users who take physical delivery of the metal. It added that it would in future raise the number of the risk factors disclosed in its filings. "Decreases in regional delivery and product premiums, decreases in LME aluminium prices and increases in the supply of aluminium could have a material adverse effect on Alcoa's business, financial condition and results of...
Inbound and outbound shipments of China’s primary aluminum both grew in May from a year ago, Shanghai Metals Market understood. Inbound shipments of the material jumped 10.24% year-on-year to 24,000 tonnes in May, China Customs showed. SMM believed these imported goods were probably used for tolling trade, considering the average CIF price at $ 2,026.78 per tonne, which was well above spot aluminum prices in China’s domestic markets. China Customs also showed outbound shipments of primary aluminum were 20,200 tonnes in May, up114.31% from a year ago. The surge in exports was due largely to high premiums in Japan and South Korea, SMM understood. Besides, SMM believed that these aluminum ingots were probably exported from bonded zones instead of from China’s domestic markets. This was...
UC RUSAL, a leading global aluminium producer, announces that it has begun initial design work on a project to build a new casting line at the Krasnoyarsk aluminium smelter (“KrAZ”). The project is part of the Company’s strategy to increase the share of alloys in total aluminium output. Completion is expected in 2016. Total investment in the project is estimated at USD45 million. The new casting line will produce a new size range of billets, including up to large diameter billets of 460 mm. Currently, RUSAL produces billets with a diameter of up to 200 mm, therefore greatly increasing our billet production abilities. The capacity of the line will be 120,000 tonnes per year. Evgeny Nikitin, Director of RUSAL’s Aluminium Division, commented: “Our consumers in construction, packaging and...
Alcoa will hold a conference call on Tuesday, July 8 beginning at 5:00 p.m. EDT to discuss second quarter 2014 results and business developments. The conference call will be webcast live via Alcoa's website, with presentation materials available online at 4:15 p.m. EDT. Conference Call Information Time: 5:00 – 6:00 p.m. EDT Hosts: Klaus Kleinfeld, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer William Oplinger, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Call: (866) 202-3048 + 1 (617) 213-8843 (International) Pass Code: 12670216 To avoid a delay in start time, please dial-in beginning at 4:45 p.m. EDT Webcast : Invest section of the Alcoa website to listen and view slides only.
Although the government has been making conscious efforts to reach electricity to more people in rural areas, it has failed to make as much impact as it would have liked. Rural areas usually suffer on account of poor and underdeveloped transmission infrastructure and adequate distribution capacity to supply electricity. A key reason being that in rural areas, lack of infrastructure and low purchasing power of consumers create hurdles in providing an uninterrupted supply of electricity. Keeping this in mind, Aditya Aluminium has come forward to provide electricity in two villages of Sambalpur district recently. This is a first of its kind project in the district by any company. As part of its peripheral development programmes, the company’s CSR wing has installed solar-powered streetlights...
Japan's aluminium premiums for July-September shipments were mostly set at a record high $400-$408 per tonne, up 8-12 percent from the previous quarter, on higher overseas rates and solid local demand, sources directly involved in the talks said. Japan is Asia's biggest importer of the metal and the premiums for primary metal shipments it agrees to pay suppliers each quarter over the London Metal Exchange (LME) cash price set the benchmark for the region. An end-user source said most deals were done at $405-$408, while another end-user source said most deals were booked at $400-$405. A source at one of the producers said most shipments were booked at $407-408, with some deals done at $410, while another producer source said most deals were agreed near $405. Negotiations are still...
Alcoa today announced new appointments in its Global Primary Products (GPP) segment and for its European region. Tómas Már Sigurdsson has been promoted to Chief Operating Officer for GPP effective June 24. He will focus on the day-to-day operations of Alcoa’s aluminum smelters, alumina refineries and bauxite assets, globally. Sigurdsson had been President of the European Region, GPP Europe and the Middle East. He will relocate to New York and become a member of Alcoa's Executive Council, the senior leadership team that sets strategic direction for the company. Martin Brière, currently GPP President for Alcoa Canada and Africa, will assume additional responsibilities for GPP Europe, and is appointed GPP President Alcoa Canada, Africa and Europe effective June 24. As GPP leader in Europe,...
Russian aluminium giant Rusal has won another reprieve from lenders, extending a deadline to refinance $3.6 billion in debt to the end of October while it seeks court approval for a debt restructuring that is being blocked by a few creditors. Without the deadline extension, the world's largest aluminium producer, whose earnings have been hit by a slump in aluminium prices, would have faced default on July 7. "We are pleased that efforts to refinance our debt portfolio have attracted such significant lender support. We are disappointed, however, that these have not been supported by a very small minority of lenders," Rusal Deputy Chief Executive Oleg Mukhamedshin said in a statement on Friday. Rusal said 94 percent of lenders had backed the restructuring, but in the absence of unanimous...
LME aluminium may drop to $1,865 per tonne, as indicated by its wave pattern, a triangle and a Fibonacci retracement analysis. The metal's failure to go above the June 9 high of $1,918 indicates the rally from the June 12 low of $1,836 could be the second leg of a three-wave cycle that developed from $1,918. The third leg of the cycle, labelled as wave c, has started towards $1,836. The drop from the June 25 high of $1,912 has been shaped into a triangle, which could turn out to be bearish pattern, pointing to $1,850. A Fibonacci retracement analysis reveals the wave c has temporarily stopped around the support at $1,883, the 38.2 percent level. A drop to $1,880 will confirm a break below the support and the target at $1,865, the 61.8 percent level. The views expressed are his own. No...
Nearly half of the Coalition's backbenchers in the lower house have called on the Abbott government to grant the aluminium industry a full exemption from the renewable energy target (RET). The letter – understood to have been signed by 25 Coalition lower house MPs – argued the government could exempt aluminium smelting and still achieve a “true” 20% renewable energy usage target by 2020. This correspondence to the environment minister, Greg Hunt, and the industry minister, Ian Macfarlane, said the target could be met without increasing RET costs to other electricity users or "grandfathering" existing renewable energy investments. The call comes as the government awaits the findings of a review of the RET headed by the businessman and self-professed climate sceptic Dick Warburton. It...
Qatalum has inaugurated its state-of-the-art Pot Relining plant, following the project's successful and timely completion Wednesday 25th of June The opening ceremony was attended by Hilde Merete Aasheim, Vice Chairperson to the Qatalum Board and Executive Vice President of Primary Metal at Hydro, together with Tom Petter Johansen, CEO of Qatalum and Hans Petter Lange, Reduction Manager. Also present were Iain Dodds, Project Manager, representatives from Dutco McConnell Dowell (Qatar) LLC, the project contractor, Davy Fosen, Relining Plant Manager, and representatives from Staref, the relining service contractor. At an overall cost of US$ 44 million, the Relining Plant Project has been considered a resounding success. The project was delivered on time, with no recordable injuries during...
Alba's proposed $2.5 billion expansion to add a sixth production line is likely to start by the end of this year, the company's chief executive has said. In an exclusive interview with the Gulf Daily News, our sister publication, Alba chief executive Tim Murray said the bankable feasibility study was almost complete and the project was now subject to approvals from the board and authorities. The construction of a fifth power station will also be a part of the expansion, he said. Next steps include finalising long-term contracts to secure gas supplies for powering the new line. Murray said the project would take 36 months for completion from the commencement date. Once the sixth potline goes on-stream, Alba expects to produce an additional 400,000 tonnes of aluminium a year, boosting...
Rusal is seeking court approval to force through its debt restructuring after failing to win unanimous backing from its creditors. The lenders blocking the restructuring of the Russian aluminium group’s $10bn debt pile are Royal Bank of Scotland, which is 80 per cent owned by the UK government, and Portigon, a group tasked with winding up the assets of Germany’s WestLB, according to people familiar with the matter. Rusal, controlled by Oleg Deripaska, has been negotiating with creditors since last year to change the terms of its debts, as its profitability is weighed down by years of low aluminium prices. While its Russian lenders have approved the restructuring, it has failed to achieve unanimous support for changes in the terms of about $5.2bn in credit lines from international banks....
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba), a leading aluminium smelter of the world, has successfully achieved 4 million work hours without Lost Time Injury (LTI). This achievement underlines Alba’s continuous commitment to safety and maintaining a zero-accident work environment. Alba’s Executive Management and various managers praised all the employees for their proactive attitude and commitment towards safety. Applauding the employees’ efforts towards achieving this milestone, Alba’s Chief Executive Officer, Tim Murray said: “At Alba, we believe that Ownership of Safety is everyone responsibility and the achievement of 4 million work hours without LTI could not be achieved without the commitment of employees to this principle. I thank all the employees and the Alba Labour Union for their...
