Mexico is approaching the final stages of negotiations with the United States on reducing tariffs on aluminum and steel products, with officials indicating that a deal could significantly lower the effective tariff burden on Mexican exporters. Luis Rosendo Gutiérrez, Mexico’s undersecretary of foreign trade, said talks had made progress during the National Auto Parts Industry congress. Discussions covering the automotive sector are targeting a 15% tariff, which could fall to an effective rate of around 4% to 5% after deductions linked to regional value content. The potential reduction would bring Mexico closer to tariff levels faced by competitors including Japan, South Korea and Germany, improving the position of Mexican suppliers in the US market. Explore the production, demand and...
CLSA expects the Odisha High Court’s dismissal of Vedanta Aluminium Metal’s bauxite petition to have a muted medium-term impact, despite a potential one-time liability and higher aluminium production costs. The Odisha High Court dismissed Vedanta Aluminium’s petition seeking bauxite supplies from Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) at the historical rate of INR 1,000 (USD 10.38) per tonne. CLSA said the order could result in a one-time financial impact of up to USD 290 million, including interest, while also increasing the company’s aluminium production costs. The brokerage estimated OMC’s claim for historical dues at around INR 2,500 crore (USD 59.50 million) before tax, excluding interest. Including interest, the one-time impact could reach USD 290 million, equivalent to around 2.8 per cent...
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Iran raised its aluminum production output in the first 11 months of the current Iranian year (March 20, 2013-February 20, 2014), Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO) announced on Sunday. Aluminum ingot production in the first 11 months of this year exceeded 320,000 tons, up by 4 percent compared to the same period last year, it said. Iran also produced 207,089 tons of aluminum powder in the same period. In May 2012, Iranian Deputy Minister of Industry, Mines and Trade Vajihollah Jafari said Iran’s aluminum output would hit 1.5 million tons by March 2025. Jafari noted that the Iranian Mining and Mineral Industries Development and Renovation Organization would implement various projects across Iran to reach the aluminum output target set for...
Century Aluminum traded today at a new 52-week high of $12.64. Approximately 102,000 shares have changed hands today, as compared to an average 30-day volume of 740,000 shares. Century Aluminum defies analysts with a current price ($12.63) 15.5% above its average consensus price target of $10.67. Century Aluminum shares have support at the 50-day moving average (MA) of $11.06 and additional support at the 200-day MA of $9.51. Century Aluminum Company produces primary aluminum, in both molten and ingot form, through facilities located in the United States. The Company owns and operates a reduction facility in Ravenswood, West Virginia, and owns a partial interest in a reduction facility in Mt. Holly, South Carolina. Century is also the operating partner of a reduction facility in...
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba) is the proud winner of the International Safety Award for 2013 performance by the British Safety Council. The company received this international acclaim for its commitment and efforts taken towards maintaining safety, health and well-being of its workforce during 2013. Widely regarded as a premier event in the safety and health calendar, the International Safety Award by the British Safety Council recognises and rewards organisations that are committed to corporate safety and health. The award is acknowledged by the UK Health and Safety Executive as a powerful motivator for achieving high safety standards. Commenting on Alba's success in winning the British Safety Council's International Safety Award, Alba's Chief Executive, Tim Murray said: "There is...
Rusal, the Russian aluminium giant, has entered into a deal with Sberbank to refinance their debt of $5 billion with the largest lender of the country, Oleg Mukhamedshin, Rusal Deputy Chief Executive said on Thursday. Rusal, hit by aluminium’s weak prices as well as heavy levels of debt of around $10 billion, had talks with the state bank on debt restructuring deal, sources said in the month of January. "We have finished our discussions and we have credit approval," Mukhamedshin told Reuters. "So currently we are finalising the ... process." He did not provide further details. Sberbank declined to comment. In January Sberbank and Rusal were discussing the particular model, under which "if aluminium prices remain low, the debt is to be repaid over 20-30 years; if they go up, then the cash...
State-owned PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium (Inalum) will diversify its product range by producing aluminum alloys and baked carbon anodes to supply the aerospace and electronics industries. Sahala Sijabat, the president director of Inalum, which only a few months ago was taken over by the government, said the company would also produce aluminum alloy as well as aluminum ingots. Aluminum alloy is a mixture of aluminum and other elements that make end products stronger and more durable. The product is commonly used in aircraft manufacturing. Sahala previously told The Jakarta Post that Inalum would also sell baked carbon anodes, which are mainly used for electronic devices, such as radios, televisions and computers. “We currently only produce aluminum slack and ingots, of which 80 percent is...
Syrah Resources has signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the offtake of 80,000 tonnes to 100,000 tonnes of graphite from its giant Balama Project in Mozambique by Chalieco, a member of the Chinalco Group. Notably, this is close to half of the planned initial production of 220,000t from the project with the company expecting further offtake developments in other jurisdictions in the coming months. Syrah and Chalieco will negotiate a legally binding offtake agreement within three months of signing the MoU, which also includes an amount of >98% V2O5 (vanadium) chemical powder or flake products to be determined. This will firm up V2O5 volume requirements and also both graphite and V2O5 pricing. Chalieco Chalieco is an affiliate company of Aluminum Corporation of China (Chinalco), the...
Following the weak signals from global markets, the price of aluminum came down 0.37% to a trading rate of INR 107 per kg today as the speculators unloaded their positions. Further, slow demand of aluminum in the domestic spot markets also resulted in the fall of metal prices. At the Multi Commodity Exchange, the price of aluminum for delivery declined by 40 paise or 0.37% in March, to INR 107 per kg in the business turnover of around 291 lots. In the month of April, aluminum for delivery also came down to a similar margin to a price of INR 108.45 per kg in total turnover of 14 lots. The market analysts are of the view that weak prices of aluminum at the futures trade was at par with the downtrend in price of base metals at LME.
Indian diversified miner Vedanta Resources has appointed former Rio Tinto ceo Tom Albanese as its new chief executive Albanese left Rio at the beginning of 2013 after a tough year for the company in 2012, in which it reported $14 billion of writedowns. He will take over as ceo of Vedanta and join the Vedanta board from April 1, the company said, succeeding MS Mehta, who is retiring at the end of March. Albanese has been working with Vedanta since September last year as chairman of subsidiary Vedanta Resources Holdings Ltd. Vedanta has said it also plans to recommend to the Sesa Sterlite Ltd board the appointment of Albanese as ceo of that company, after the end of Mehta's term. "Tom Albanese's skills and experience in leading world-class mining companies will be of great value in...
Romanian aluminum smelter, Alro SA, considered as one of the biggest primary aluminum smelters in Europe said it planned to halt some operations due to a rise in cost of power. Alro said the green certificates’ mandatory quota or carbon permits for the year 2013 was kept fixed at 0.224 green certificates/MWh by the Energy Regulatory Authority of Romania. Last year it was was 0.1188, nearly double of what it is this year.
The monthly Aluminum MMI® registered a value of 89 in March, on par with February’s value. The 3-month LME price closed the month of February at $1,765 per metric ton; a small bounce from the record lows registered at the beginning of the month. Most analysts are optimistic with the future role of aluminum in the automotive industry, expecting demand from automakers to gradually increase in the next few years. But at the same time, producers are already investing on upgrading facilities, so it is hard to estimate how exactly this will balance over time just yet. Aluminum physical premiums continue to play a big role in the total price an industrial buyer pays for its aluminum products, as prices keep weakening and premiums continue climbing. While some groups question the sustainability...
Physical prices of European Aluminium will stay high this year as financing deals squeeze the aluminium availability on the spot market, Rusal Deputy Chief Executive Oleg Mukhamedshin said on Thursday. In an interview, Mukhamedshin told Reuters that aluminium premium CIF Europe which reflects regional demand and supplywere around $350-$370 per ton. Premiums are paid over the LME cash price."You have quite a deficit of metal in the spot market, but you also have huge pressure from financial players..., so that's why you have this discrepancy," he said. Premiums in Europe as well as United States had hit the record highs, highlighting the LME’s inability to compensate a market where producers are locking aluminium as an investment because of low interest rates. According to Metal Bulletin,...
PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium (Inalum), the aluminium producer announced that it had supplied 105 MW of electricity in North Sumatra in order to resolve the province’s recurring power outages. Sahala Sijabat, the president director of Inalum said the supply of electric power was a free contribution to resolve the region’s power crisis. He also added that Inalum had been supplying electricity to this province since Nov 28. “This is a form of our commitment to help overcome the power crisis in North Sumatra,” Sahala told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday. He said Inalum had additionally supplied 1.5 MW to state power company PLN in Porsea, Humbang Hasundutan regency. “That’s the best we could do to help. This is probably due to the good condition of our eight power generators and the high water...
Anne Lauvergeon and Simon Thompson will join the boards of Rio Tinto plc and Rio Tinto Limited as non-executive directors and both will become members of the Sustainability and Nominations Committees. Anne Lauvergeon’s appointment will take effect from 15 March 2014. She has over 30 years’ experience across a number of fields. She started her career in the steel industry and then worked in a variety of roles at leading industrial companies before serving as chief executive officer of AREVA Group, the French nuclear power company, from 1999 to 2011. Anne also spent a number of years as adviser on international economic affairs at the French Presidency and as deputy chief of staff. Simon Thompson’s appointment will take effect from 1 April 2014. He holds a degree in geology and brings a...
On Monday, March 3, the Indian aluminum cash price fell by 1.3 percent, making it the day’s biggest mover. At $1,724, the cash price of primary aluminum finished the market day on the LME up 0.5 percent per metric ton. On the LME, the 3-month price of aluminum increased 0.3 percent to $1,765 per metric ton. Chinese aluminum closed mixed yesterday. The cash price of Chinese aluminum fell to a 30-day low after shifting 0.7 percent. The price of Chinese aluminum scrap remained essentially flat. For the fifth consecutive day, the price of Chinese aluminum billet held flat. The price of Chinese aluminum bar saw little movement.
Aluminum's 3-month forward prices at the LME recovered sharply yesterday by $50 and settled at $1770. We believe that there has been no major change in the fundamentals overnight, just a mere recovery that took place in the entire complex after concerns over Russian action against Ukraine settled down. We would not like to change our bearish stance on Aluminum due to the fact that cash prices across the globe, especially in China are trading lower, which could eventually pull the price down in the near-term. Nonetheless, the LME inventory showed a good amount of fall by 6,800 while the cancelled warrants ratio remained in the negative. We would also like to reiterate that the underlying fundamentals do not change on a daily basis but that it is the market dynamics that play an important...
Chinese aluminium smelters are expected to close down nearly 2 million tons of operating capacity in the ensuing months in order to handle the losses occurring due to falling prices and declining support from government: industry sources said. The capacity cuts will control the oversupply in the Chinese aluminium market by reducing the growing stock of aluminium which has crippled the global alminium prices. Beijing has been putting up efforts to tackle the oversupply issue in aluminium and other metal segments. But, the new government of President Xi Jinping has taken up the matter on a priority basis and insisted that smelters curb capacity growth to bring back balance in the market. "I would not be surprised if one to two million tonnes of capacity will close in the first half," said...
LME aluminium is expected to retrace into a range of $1,743-$1,752 per tonne, as it failed to break a resistance at $1,771. The resistance has been established at the 76.4 percent Fibonacci retracement on the fall from the Feb. 26 high of $1,788.50 to the March 3 low of $1,715. It has apparently caused a correction towards the range formed by the 38.2 percent and the 50 percent retracements. It is hard to categorise the strong surge from $1,715, as this surge could be labelled either as a wave b or a wave C. A break above $1,771 will confirm the progress of the wave C towards $1,788.50. 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...
Analysts at Thomson Reuters upgraded Noranda Aluminum Holding Corp. from a “sell” to a “hold” rating in their research report that they have issued for the investors and clients, reported Stock Ratings Network.com. Separately, Noranda Aluminum Holding Corp shares were downgraded by analysts at TheStreet from a “hold” to a “sell” rating in a research note. The stock have been rated by two equities analysts with a sell rating, a hold rating by six analyst and a buy rating by a single analyst. Currently Noranda Aluminum Holding Corp. has a consensus rating of “Hold” and also an average price target of about $3.29. During mid-day training, Noranda Aluminum Holding Corp. shares traded up 0.93%, hitting $4.35. The stock had a total trading volume of 373,471 shares. The corporation has a 1-year...
