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...
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First Quarter 2014 Highlights and Recent Events • Total segment profit was $10.7 million compared to $36.3 million in first quarter 2013 • First quarter 2014 weather-related segment profit impact totaled $14.9 million • Average realized Midwest transaction price per pound shipped was $0.95, compared to $1.03 in first quarter 2013 • Net Cash Cost was $0.90 per pound, or $0.79 per pound excluding weather-related impact; first quarter 2013 Net Cash Cost was $0.81 per pound • Excluding special items, EPS was a $0.24 loss in first quarter 2014 and reported EPS was a $0.25 loss • Cash and cash equivalents totaled $51.2 million and total available liquidity was $191.1 million, calculated as of March 31, 2014 Noranda Aluminum Holding Corporation today reported results for first quarter 2014....
UAE-based aluminium giant Emirates Global Aluminium PJSC ("EGA"), one of the strategic sponsors of the annual Water Energy Technology and Environment Exhibition ("WETEX") 2014, says its efforts to improve operating efficiencies through technological innovation are paying off handsomely, as evidenced by significant reductions in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions over the past three years. Held at the Dubai International Convention & Exhibition Centre from 14 to 16 April, the focus of WETEX 2014 was on advanced technologies in energy, water, and environment, with the aim of supporting the Dubai government's Vision 2030 and the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy's commitments to innovation and sustainability. EGA showcased best practices in its in-house developed DX and DX+ reduction cell...
British banking giant Barclays believed that the LME aluminum prices are expected to average $1,850 a ton in second quarter of this year. First quarter LME aluminum prices were slightly below expected, averaging $1,708 a ton versus Barclays forecast of $1,750 a ton. Barclays maintain their aluminum's rest-of-year forecast with the fundamental picture unchanged from when they set this price deck at the beginning of the year. That said, this is based on the premise that physical premiums moderate lower as the year progresses. “We believe that eventually the additional LME warehouse load-out rates will be implemented and material will flow out of LME warehouses quicker than it does currently. However, there are many hurdles, and in the meantime, premiums are likely to remain supported,...
Alro SA, one of the largest aluminium producers in Central and Eastern Europe, implements, continuously programmes for increasing the overall efficiency of the Company. Over the past 10 years, following investments worth USD 500 million, out of which USD 100 million in environment projects, the strategy implemented targeted modernizing its equipments in order to remain competitive on the international markets, but also to fully comply with environment regulations. “By constantly working to increase the efficiency of our activity, we managed to consolidate our competitiveness on a very volatile market, while complying with the highest environmental standards”, said Gheorghe Dobra, CEO of Vimetco and General Manager of Alro Slatina. “We succeeded in reducing the energy consumption, although...
UC RUSAL, a leading global aluminium producer, has purchased over 80 different machines and mobile equipment units to strengthen labour mechanisation efforts at its Aluminium Division production sites. The company spent a total of RUR 132 mln on the purchase, R&D and maintenance of auxiliary process machinery for potrooms in 2013 alone. 10 highly maneuverable Bobcat loaders equipped with hydraulic breakers that are vital to facilitate pot treatment operations are arriving at the Bratsk aluminium smelter, and Hencon, another machinery supplier, has designed a customised pot tending vehicle with a set of detachable tools that will help staff in their daily routine on the shop floor. In 2013, the aluminium smelters in Krasnoyarsk (KrAZ), Irkutsk (IrkAZ), and Novokuznetsk (NkAZ) received 60...
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba), a key player in the aluminium industry, will host the 18th International Arab Aluminium (Arabal) Conference in November 2014 under the theme - “GCC: An aluminium power house”. ARABAL is being hosted for the fourth time by the Kingdom of Bahrain, and this year, it is expected to attract more than 700 delegates including key decision makers and industry leaders from all sectors of the aluminium industry in the region and across the world. The statement was announced during the meeting held by ARABAL Organizing Committee on Tuesday, April 22, 2014 at the Gulf Hotel, Bahrain. Alba’s Chief Executive Officer, Tim Murray said: “As one of the major aluminium smelters in the Gulf region and the Middle East, Alba is proud to host ARABAL, an event of international...
Noranda Aluminum Holding Corp. will issue its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. Parties interested in listening to the company’s conference call can do so using this link. Noranda Aluminum Holding Corp. last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the analysts’ consensus estimate of ($0.19) by $0.31. The company had revenue of $339.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $296.14 million. On average, analysts expect Noranda Aluminum Holding Corp. to post $-0.51 EPS for the current fiscal year and $0.15 EPS for the next fiscal year. Shares of Noranda Aluminum Holding Corp. opened at 4.21 on Tuesday. Noranda Aluminum Holding Corp. has a 52 week low of $2.21...
LME aluminium is expected to break a support at $1,848 per tonne and fall more to $1,814, as a drop from the April 11 high of $1,902.50 has not completed. The drop followed a completion of a corrective wave cycle that developed from the Feb. 3 low of $1,671.25. Based on a Fibonacci retracement analysis on the cycle, aluminium may at least reach $1,814, the 38.2 percent retracement. Three small waves labelled a, b, c will make up the fall, with the current wave c travelling towards $1,848, the 23.6 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, financial or legal advice regarding the products...
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba) remains committed to further enhance its production capacity with the recent upgrade of its Pot Line 4 to AP36 technology following the increase in line current of 355 kA in December 2013 to 360 kA. The upgrade in the line current in Pot Line 4 - which started operations in 1992 with a line current of 295 kA - is part of Alba’s initiative to boost its performance levels across the plant. The upgrade from 355 kA to 360 kA is expected to add 4,000 tonnes a year. This accomplishment was achieved by an internal team comprising members from the Power, Carbon Operations & Maintenance, Process Control & Development, Reduction Operation & Maintenance departments. Commenting on Pot Line 4’s upgrade to AP36 technology, Alba’s Chief Operations Officer, Isa Al-Ansari...
The stockpiles of spot aluminium in China was down for the 1st time within a year after the production was cut down in a number of smelters to reduce losses, a survey made by Shanghai Metals Market said that. On a spot basis, stockpiles of aluminium were down in four major trading regions in China - Shanghai, Hangzhou, Nanhai and Wuxi by 34,000 tons to 1.26 mn tons last week, the survey said. With low aluminium prices and surplus in production, many aluminium producers such as Aluminum Corporation of China (Chalco) have started cutting down on the production. A capacity of over 1.3 million tpy has been stooped since last year beginning and that has resulted in the decreasing output of the metal, the SMM research team said. Downstream consumption is going up at the same time with the...
The Odisha government is unlikely to consider the plea of Vedanta Aluminium Ltd (VAL) to use power generated by Sterlite Energy Ltd, also a Vedanta Group firm, to run its smelter complex at Jharsuguda. The company had argued that since Odisha had turned power surplus, sparing 600 Mw out of Sterlite's 2400 Mw (4x600) coal-fired station could come to the rescue of its smelter lying idle for want of power. The state grid is currently getting 400-450 Mw from Sterlite's 2400 Mw plant and acceding to VAL's request would cut supply by 50 per cent. "Vedanta had requested the government to allow conversion of its two 600 Mw units to CPP (captive power plants). But such an arrangement would cut power supply to state grid by up to 50 per cent. Besides, the state government is not encouraging...
On Monday night, SHFE 1406 aluminum contract fluctuated in a RMB 13,190-13,205/mt band after starting at RMB 13,200/mt, and finished the night session at RMB 13,205/mt. Trading volumes totaled 456 lots, and positions added 54 lots to 112,268 lots. The most active SHFE aluminum contract is expected to vacillate between RMB 13,180-13,230/mt Tuesday. In China’s physical market, spot discounts of RMB 120-160/mt are expected over SHFE 1405 aluminum contract.
United Arab Emirates: Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) - the jointly-owned, UAE-based aluminium conglomerate to be formed by Mubadala Development Corporation and Investment Corporation of Dubai through combining their respective aluminium industry assets - will participate as a new entity for the first time at the annual Careers UAE 2014 exhibition. EGA's participation continues the long-standing commitment by its core operating entities - Dubai Aluminium PJSC ( DUBAL ) and Emirates Aluminium (EMAL) - thus reaffirming its commitment to Emiratisation and underpinning its reputation as a leading employer in the UAE. Held under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, the 14th Careers UAE Exhibition takes place from 22-24...
PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium (Inalum), the aluminium producer, plans to make an investment of $1.9 billion until 2019, said Agus Tjahajana, the president. The company is also planning to build a $1.2 billion worth aluminium smelter with a total capacity of 250,000 tons per year and a $700 million worth steam power plant with a capacity of 500 megawatt. The firm even expects that the production capacity will reach 400,000 tonnes every year in 2018 and almost 500,000 tonnes by the year 2019, a rise from their targeted output of 260,000 tons this year.
Aluminij Mostar, an aluminium smelter located in Bosnian is facing the risk of closure again after the electric supply to the smelter was proposed to cut off by a state-owner electric supply company due to its increasing debt. In late March, EPHZHB, the power provider failed to collect nearly 100 million Bosnian marka, an amount that the Aluminij smelter had to pay for their electric supplies by signing a bank guarantee. "We have not succeeded to cash anything, they have no money," EPHZHB spokesman Mario Fofic said. "Unless they come up with a new plan to pay the debt by April 24 we shall be forced to halt the delivery of electricity," Fofic said over the phone from the southern town of Mostar, the base location of the smelter and the utility. Aluminij Mostar could not be reached for...
Last Friday night, SHFE 1406 aluminum contract was range-bound after starting at RMB 13,230/mt, and finished the night session flat with the opening price. Trading volumes totaled 952 lots, and positions added 62 lots to 114,216 lots. With LME still closed today, the most active SHFE aluminum contract should fluctuate in a tight RMB 13,190-13,230/mt range on Monday. In China’s physical market, spot discounts of RMB 110-150/mt are expected over SHFE 1405 aluminum contract.
Service centers across North America increased delivery volumes during March, and in most instances managed to reduce their inventory levels, too. The Metals Service Center Institute, which reports the shipment and inventory results in its Monthly Activity Report, stated that “shipment growth returned to healthy levels for steel and aluminum in both the United States and Canada.” The increases represent a notable reversal of the mostly lackluster results for service centers during January and February. MSCI is a trade association for service centers and metal processors across North America. It prepares the monthly summary of steel and aluminum shipments from data reported by member companies in the U.S. and Canada, and tracks inventory levels at those locations. Shipments of steel by...
Midwest aluminum premiums inched up over the past week, with market participants claiming that rising demand and limited domestic supply will continue to support current premium levels in the near term. AMM's spot P1020 premium edged up to 18.25 to 18.75 cents per pound on April 18, from 18.25 to 18.5 cents a week earlier. Sentiment was leaning toward future increases in the premium largely due to increased purchasing activities, limited North American capacity and improved weather conditions across much of country, sources told AMM. "The (Midwest) premium is more a factor of North America not investing in its smelter base," one producer source said. "There has not been a new smelter in North America for a very long time. Bottom line: It means material has to come from abroad." The influx...
