OCBC has raised its end-2026 aluminium price forecast to about USD 3,150 per tonne from USD 3,050, citing a slower-than-expected recovery in Gulf production, although strong Chinese output is expected to continue offsetting supply disruptions. Three-month aluminium on the London Metal Exchange (LME) fell 0.9 per cent month-on-month in September to USD 3,214 per tonne as of September 29, remaining 2 per cent above OCBC’s third-quarter forecast of USD 3,150. The cash-to-three-month spread was broadly unchanged at a USD 7.40-per-tonne contango, compared with USD 7.60 at the end of August. The spread suggests limited urgency for immediate metal supply despite a continued decline in global exchange inventories. Gulf aluminium recovery loses momentum OCBC said aluminium production across the...
European aluminium premiums have climbed to their highest level in almost four months as the market weighs the potential impact of lower US tariffs on Canadian aluminium supplies. The front-month COMEX European duty-paid aluminium premium rose 10 per cent to USD 574 per tonne on October 1, Thursday, according to LSEG data. The premium, which is paid on top of the London Metal Exchange (LME) aluminium price for physical metal, reached its highest level since June 8. Canadian metal flows drive European supply concerns The European premium has risen in recent weeks amid reports that the US could reduce its 50 per cent tariff on Canadian aluminium imports to 25 per cent. A lower tariff could make the US market more attractive to Canadian producers, potentially reducing the metal available to...
Grow with
AL Circle
The Honourable Denis Lebel, Minister of Infrastructure, Communities and Intergovernmental Affairs and Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec, announces that the Aluminium Valley Society (AVS) has been granted funding to help position nine Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean equipment manufacturers in the Persian Gulf market. These enterprises possess internationally-recognized expertise in the design, manufacture and installation of equipment and systems for the primary aluminium industry. The assistance announced today has been awarded in the form of $291,027 in total non-repayable funding through Canada Economic Development's Quebec Economic Development Program and is conditional on the signing of a contribution agreement between Canada Economic Development...
Alcoa today confirmed a $10 million contribution to the Geelong and Yennora communities to help stimulate new jobs and fund training programs in the regions. Alcoa today confirmed a $10 million contribution to the Geelong and Yennora communities to help stimulate new jobs and fund training programs in the regions. This follows Alcoa’s announcement in February that it will permanently close its Point Henry smelter and rolling mill in Geelong and its Yennora rolling mill and recycling facility in New South Wales. Alcoa of Australia Managing Director Alan Cransberg said Alcoa was following through on its commitment to support employees at Point Henry and Yennora as they transition through the changes they face this year. “Alcoa has been an integral part of the Geelong and Yennora communities...
Hydro has decided to permanently close its Kurri Kurri aluminium plant in Australia. Production at the plant ceased in 2012. After being in care and maintenance mode since 2012, the decision to permanently close the Kurri Kurri aluminium plant is allowing for remediation and redevelopment options for the site to progress. The decision to cease production at the Kurri Kurri aluminium plant in 2012 was based on the overall market situation for aluminium, such as the continued weak macro-economic environment, with low metal prices, uncertain market outlook and strong Australian dollar (AUD) relative to the U.S. dollar (USD). Hydro has been evaluating and preparing for a possible closure and has been working on plans for the future of the site, resulting in the decision to permanently close....
If the first day of trading is any indication, CME Group may have a tough slog drumming up interest for its North American aluminum futures contract. CME launched the contract to allow aluminum producers and consumers to lock in prices ahead of time and give investors an opportunity to speculate on the direction of the market. Aluminum for July delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange closed at $2,165 a metric ton. Total trading volume across all delivery months for the day was 56 contracts. By comparison, London Metal Exchange’s aluminum contract, the biggest and most liquid contract traded on that exchange and seen by market participants as the de facto means of trading futures in the industrial metal, closed with a volume of 13,682 contracts. Commodities...
The Annual General Meeting of Norsk Hydro ASA today adopted all the items as proposed on the agenda, including the proposal to distribute a dividend of NOK 0.75 per share. The dividend will be paid on May 19, 2014 to ordinary shareholders listed in the Norwegian Central Securities Depository as of May 12. The share will be traded ex-dividend from May 8. Click the below link for the minutes of the Annual General Meeting Minutes from the Annual General Meeting
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C (Alba) presents its financial results as per the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) accounting rules. All investors and reporters are asked to read Alba’s Q1 2014 Unaudited Financial Statements posted at Alba website. Alba’s results for Q1 2014 are summarised below: Q1 2014 Industry Highlights • World consumption up by 5.6% year-on-year while world market production rose by 5.5% YoY as compared to Q1 2013 and is expected to grow in the short-run with the fast ramp-up of Greenfield smelters in China and India • Asian demand propelled by China (+10% YoY); MENA consumption continues to grow (+5% YoY) supported by large infrastructure spending in Saudi Arabia. North America demand up by 2% YoY thanks to the new investments in extrusion industry and...
Aluminium industry leaders say their campaign against damaging red tape is starting to bear fruit, with the UK now being seen as a more friendly environment towards heavy industry and manufacturing. However, more needs to be done. During the past decade, a raft of energy legislation aimed at cutting CO2 emissions has made Britain globally uncompetitive, leading to the loss of 87% of the country’s primary aluminium production capacity. But a series of meetings with parliamentarians and government ministers during the past 12 months appears to have had a significant impact on policymakers’ approach to aluminium and the wider manufacturing sector, heralding growth in sector confidence. The aluminium industry is hailing: moves to compensate energy intensive industries (EIIs) for costs of...
Aluminum Corp of China Ltd (Chalco) on Tuesday booked a net loss for the first quarter that was twice as wide as the same period a year earlier, as severe oversupply of the metal pushed down prices. China's largest producer of aluminium, in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange, reported a net loss of 2.16 billion yuan ($345.43 million) for January-March, compared with a loss of 975 million yuan a year prior. Chalco sells the aluminium it produces mainly in the Chinese market, where spot prices fell 11 percent in the three months to March 31. Chalco swung to a full-year profit in 2013 but said oversupply and falling prices would make for a challenging 2014. On Tuesday, the company said it expects to record a loss for the first half of 2014. Chinese aluminium smelters are likely shut...
Aluminum futures trading started on Monday on the CME Group Inc. in Chicago, a move supported by companies such as MillerCoors LLC that complained of price distortions cause by delivery delays at warehouses run by the London Metal Exchange. The new futures contract will offer a “North American benchmark for managing price risk” on aluminum — with access to the metal at warehouses in Baltimore, New Orleans and Ypsilanti, Mich., according to the CME, which owns the world's largest futures exchange. The London Metal Exchange, the biggest market for metals including aluminum and copper, received complaints over the delays and higher prices from MillerCoors, a beer brewing venture owned by SABMiller Plc, Molson Coors Brewing Co. and others. The companies said that deliveries from warehouses...
Alcoa announced today that Alcoa Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer William F. Oplinger will present at the 31st annual Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Metals, Mining and Steel Conference being held May 13-15 in Miami Beach, Florida. Oplinger will speak at 3:30 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, May 13. He will discuss Alcoa's transformation to build out Alcoa's value-add businesses and capture demand in growing markets, while lowering the cost base of the company's commodity business to improve profitability. Presentation materials and a live audio webcast will be available at Alcoa website. Following the conference, the archived webcast will be available for replay on the same website.
Aluminium prices today rose by 0.28% to INR 106.50 per kg in futures trade as speculators enlarged positions amid a firming trend overseas. Besides, increased demand at domestic spot markets also influenced prices. At the Multi Commodity Exchange, aluminium for delivery in May rose by 30 paise, or 0.28%, to INR 106.50 per kg in business turnover of 80 lots. Similarly, the metal for delivery in June traded higher by 10 paise, or 0.09%, to INR 107.80 per kg in one lots. Market analysts said the rise in aluminium prices at futures trade was mostly attributed to a firming trend in metal at the London Metal Exchange and rising demand at spot markets here.
LME aluminium may rebound to $1,803 per tonne as it has managed to stabilise around a support at $1,780. The support has been identified as the 61.8 percent Fibonacci retracement on the rise from the March 19 low of $1,704.25 to the April 11 high of $1,902.50. Working together with this support is another one at $1,787, the 50 percent Fibonacci retracement on the rise from the Feb. 3 low of $1,671.25 to $1,902.50. An immediate rebound target could be $1,803, a 50 percent retracement, a break above which could lead to a further gain to $1,814, a 38.2 percent retracement. The views expressed are his own. No information in this analysis should be considered as being business, financial or legal advice. Each reader should consult his or her own professional or other advisers for business,...
Romanian company Alro Slatina, the largest aluminum producer in Central and Eastern Europe (excluding CIS), adjusted its sales budget for this year by 6 percent, to USD 605 million, according to data posted on its website. The company previously estimated sales of USD 642 million. The main reason for the sales adjustment is the lower price of aluminum on the London Metal Exchange. Alro expects a medium sales price of USD 1,700 per ton, compared to USD 1,900 per ton at the beginning of this year. Sales volumes budgeted are almost unchanged at 145,000 metric tons of primary aluminum products and 83,500 tons of processed aluminum products which generate higher added value. Following the changes in sales estimates the company expects a total loss of abut USD 18.3 million for this year,...
Austrian aluminium supplier AMAG said first-quarter core profit fell 22 percent as the average aluminium price fell 14 percent while the company invested in an expansion programme. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were 24 million euros ($33 million), while EBIT fell 40 percent to 11 million euros, AMAG said on Tuesday. "In the case that aluminium prices remain depressed, coupled with tight downstream margins, the management board expects the group to post a year-on-year decline in earnings," it said, predicting 2014 EBITDA of 95 to 110 million euros. AMAG said its expansion project was on schedule and should be largely completed this year, with a new hot rolling mill to start up in the fourth quarter and a rolling slab casthouse scheduled to be...
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba)’s commitment to safety was highlighted during a recent visit by Bahrain’s Electricity and Water Authority (EWA)’s Standard Operating Procedures Committee (SOPC) to Alba’s Power Department. The SOPC visited Alba to gain more insight on the safety and security procedures of the company and Bahrain’s high voltage electricity network. The EWA team, chaired by Nasser Mahmood Nasser, Chief, Operations and Systems Control was welcomed by the Alba’s Power Station Operating and Maintenance team comprising Manager Power Operations Graeme Legg and Senior Operations Superintendents Sayed Ebrahim Alawi Hashim Hussain and Eskander A. Nabi along with other senior personnel. Commenting on the visit by the EWA team, Alba’s Director for Power and Utilities, Amin Sultan said:...
Primary aluminium production in the US recorded at 122,000 tons in February this year, declined by 20.26% as compared to the production of 153000 tons a month earlier and down 21.3% from 155000 tons in February 2013, according to the latest data released by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Total Aluminum recovered from scrap in February 2014 was 280,000 tons, slightly less than the amount recovered in January and slightly less than the amount recovered in February 2013.
Aluminium settled down -0.14% at 106.20 dragged down by worse-than-expected US Q1 GDP and the US Fed’s continued QE3 tapering. Demand for aluminum is underpinned by an improving economy and tighter emissions regulations for automobiles. Last Friday, upbeat economic data reported from the US validated the Fed’s decision, weighing commodity markets on. The US factory orders for March fell short of forecast, but nonfarm payrolls grew at the fastest pace in two years during April, with jobless rate also on the way down, a sign that the US economy started rebounding following the inclement winter. However, the labor force participation rate dropped from March’s 63.2% to 62.8%, a low last seen in 1978. Aluminium premiums in the US Midwest, Euro area and Japan averaged a record-high of...
Hindalco Industries Ltd, India’s second-largest aluminum producer, is targeting a record output of the lightweight metal this fiscal year to resurrect earnings estimated to have plunged to the lowest in nine years. Billionaire chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla plans to raise production by more than 50% to about 1 million tonnes in the year ending 31 March, two people familiar with the plans said. “The higher output will mainly come from the Mumbai- based company’s new units in the central state of Madhya Pradesh and the eastern state of Odisha,” said the people, who asked not to be identified, pending an announcement. Alcoa Inc., the largest US aluminum producer, last month forecast demand will exceed production this year, predicting an end to an almost decade-long surplus driven by Chinese...
