The ANZ World Commodity Price Index rose 0.6 per cent month on month and 1.0 per cent year on year, with prices increasing across most categories. The rise was largely driven by higher energy prices, while a weaker New Zealand dollar pushed the index in local-currency terms up 2.8 per cent. Oil surge lifts aluminium prices along with milk powder Aluminium benefited from supply disruption linked to the Middle East conflict. Prices rose 1.1 per cent during September and are around 23 per cent higher year on year, with production and exports in the region remaining disrupted. Dairy prices increased 1.0 per cent in September, led by skim milk powder. Prices for the product jumped 9.2 per cent month on month and are now 41.1 per cent higher than a year earlier. ANZ said milk powder prices are...
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...
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As one of the important Aluminium producers in the Persian Gulf region and a pioneer in this industry, Iran is considered to be a strategic point for production. Iranian Mines & Mining Industries Development Renovation Organization (IMIDRO) said that the country produced 292702 tons of Aluminium ingots in the first ten month of the current Iranian year (started March 21, 2013). The figure shows an increase of 4 percent compared to the corresponding output of last year, which was 281444 tons. Iranian Aluminium Co (IRALCO), Almahdi and Hormozal with 149011 tons, 87006 tons and 56685 tons of output respectively were the three top Aluminium producers of the country during this period. Considering the major role Aluminium plays in the local industry, Iran International Aluminium Conference...
Aluminium producers will have a tough time in near future as there is a huge stock of unused metal in the warehouses keeping the price of aluminium low, the marketing chief of BHP Billiton said. The LME has approved the storage of above 5 million tonnes of aluminium in warehouses. The shutdown of smelters and aluminium locked up in various financing deals have squeezed aluminium availability in the spot market. This has pushed the premiums to release aluminium from the storage to around record levels. This effect has been balanced partially by weaker benchmark prices on LME and has been the only relief to producers said President of Health and Safety, BHP Billiton, Marketing and Technology, Mike Henry. "While you have a small increase in overall prices it hasn't really been substantial...
Romania’s aluminum producer Alro Slatina reported for 2013 a preliminary adjusted net loss on RON 78 million (some EUR 17.6 million), compared to an adjusted net profit of RON 123 million (EUR 27.6 million) in 2012. It also reported sales of RON 2.02 billion (EUR 458 million) in 2013. The company recorded a negative Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of RON 21 million (EUR 4.7 million), compared to a positive EBIT of RON 286 million (EUR 64.2 million) in 2012. In a recent release, Alro says that “the company reported for 2013 a preliminary net loss of RON 76 million, compared to a loss of RON 155 million (restated) reported in 2012. Due to the high volatility of the derivatives embedded in the energy supply contract, starting Q1 2013 the company’s management decided to consider the...
The AWU says they have got into a workplace agreement with Rio Tinto and it shows how the union of the both is “able to move with the times”. The agreement was made after years of hostilities between these two leading parties over conditions at the Bell Bay aluminium smelter of Rio. The agreement has been approved by a ballot of workers and both the union and miner have lauded as flexible in light of a recent downturn in the aluminium market. The AWU had said earlier workers at the plant were receiving less wages compared to their mainland counterparts and mounted a sustained attack on the multinational miner. However, the national secretary of AWU, Paul Howes said there has been a decrease in guaranteed wage increase. Under the deal, workers will still have common law contracts focused...
Sadly in the past few years when Bell Bay Aluminium has featured on the program it’s been about struggles with worldwide costs, a high Australian dollar and jobs losses. They’ve all been attempts to try and cut costs and keep the doors of the biggest employer in the region open. This week the news was more positive with the announcement of a multi-million dollar boost to its operations and the operations of a local business. Not only was Bell Bay Aluminium able to source essential smelter equipment from a local provider for the same price as a Chinese supplier, it will result in double the aluminium production for the same electricity costs. At the local family-run business CPT Engineering it will mean more workers and a market advantage to offer its services worldwide. Bell Bay's Ray...
Public Power Corporation (PPC) said an Athens Single-Membered Court of First Instance has rejected an appeal filed by Aluminium SA regarding unlawful state aid totalling 17.4m euros, plus interest, that it received. The court's ruling was based on a relevant decision of the European Commission (EC). It also rejected an application for the suspension of a payment order issued to Aluminium SA by PPC. Despite the earlier decision by the EC, Aluminium SA has not paid the relevant amount, which compelled PPC to pursue legal action. In view of the non-recovery of the money from Aluminium SA, the EC has begun proceedings against the Hellenic Republic in the European Court.
Aluminium prices today rose by 0.33 per cent to INR 105.60 per kg in futures trade mostly in line with a firming trend in the global markets. Besides, increased demand at domestic spot markets also influenced prices. At the Multi Commodity Exchange, Aluminium for delivery in February rose by 35 paise, or 0.33 per cent to INR 105.60 per kg in a turnover of 124 lots. The metal for delivery in March rose by a similar margin to trade at INR 107.10 per kg in a business volume of 7 lots. Market analysts said the rise in aluminium prices at futures trade was mostly attributed to a firming trend in the global markets on output concerns after Alcoa Inc said it will close a smelter and United Co Rusal, the world's largest producer of the metal. Globally, aluminium contract for delivery in three...
Rising 2.2 percent to close, the cash price of primary Indian aluminum experienced the biggest change for Monday, February 17. On the LME, the primary aluminum cash price inched up 1.5 percent to $1,710 per metric ton. On the LME, the aluminum 3-month price increased 1.2 percent to $1,750 per metric ton. Chinese aluminum prices were mixed for the day. The Chinese aluminum cash price rose 1.1 percent last Friday, just off the 30-day low it hit on Wednesday, February 12. The price of Chinese aluminum scrap was unchanged. The price of Chinese aluminum billet saw essentially no change for the fifth day in a row. The price of Chinese aluminum bar remained essentially flat. http://agmetalminer.com/2014/02/17/cash-price-of-primary-indian-aluminum-rises-2-2/
Alcoa announced today that Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Klaus Kleinfeld will present at the BMO Capital Markets 23rd Global Metals & Mining Conference in Hollywood, Florida, on Monday, February 24, at 11:00 a.m. EST. Mr. Kleinfeld will discuss Alcoa's repositioning strategy to build out the Company's value-add businesses and capture demand in growing markets, while lowering the cost base of the Company's commodity business to improve profitability. The presentation and live audio webcast will be available at www.alcoa.com/bmo. Following the conference, the archived webcast will be available for replay on the same website.
China Aluminum International Engineering Corp. (CHALIECO) is planning to sale dollar perpetual bonds as the interest premium investors demand for U.S. currency debt in Asia drops to minimum within a month. CHALIECO, a unit of CHINALCO has engaged Morgan Stanley and CLSA for the task who will arrange a series of meetings in Singapore and Hong Kong for fixed-income investors, a source said. Chinese companies are venturing into dollar bond market as onshore interest rate remains high, averaging 6.18 percent this year compared with 5.10 percent during the whole year 2013, according to a data collected by Bloomberg. According to Mark Reade, a Hong Kong-based analyst at Mizuho Securities Asia Ltd said, “Any improvement in onshore liquidity is beneficial for China’s U.S. dollar spreads because...
Dubai Aluminium (Dubal) reported a 13 % yearly increase in their net profit to Dh1.79 billion as technological innovations have lowered manufacturing costs. “Dubal remains one of the most profitable corporations in the Emirate of Dubai,” said Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, UAE Minister of Finance and the chairman of Dubal. Despite the revenue falling about 3% to Dh9.5bn last year, the significant cost reductions were followed by adoption of “DX technology”. This technology allows the production of aluminium using smaller amounts of electricity. The production of company was over 1 million tonnes last year. Improvement in safety was witnessed, as injuries reduced by 39% compared to the last 3 years, according to Dubal. Emirates Aluminium (Emal), a joint venture between...
Supported by a firming trend overseas and domestic demand, aluminium futures prices today edged higher by 0.57 per cent to INR 106.55 per kg as speculators created positions. At the Multi Commodity Exchange, aluminium for delivery in February traded up by 60 paise, or 0.57 per cent, to INR 106.55 per kg in business turnover of 87 lots. Similarly, the metal for delivery in March traded higher by 60 paise, or 0.56 per cent, to INR 108.10 per kg in five lots. Market analysts said reports of a firming trend in base metals at the London Metal Exchange after a report showed that China's new credit increased to a record last month, boosting demand prospects for industrial metals from the world's top consumer and rising spot demand, helped aluminium prices to rise at futures trade here.
Alcoa today announced it will permanently close its Point Henry aluminum smelter and two rolling mills in Australia. The smelter and an adjacent rolling mill are located in Geelong, Victoria. The second mill and a recycling facility are located in Yennora, New South Wales. The smelter will close in August and the rolling mills by the end of 2014. The Point Henry smelter was placed under strategic review in February 2012 due to challenging market conditions. A comprehensive review found that the 50-year-old smelter has no prospect of becoming financially viable. The two rolling mills serve the domestic and Asian can sheet markets which have been impacted by excess capacity. Alcoa of Australia operates the smelter where approximately 500 employees work. Alcoa Inc. operates the rolling mills...
Rio Tinto, International mining giant, the ultimate owner of the Tiwai Pt smelter near Bluff, said the outlook for aluminium was positive despite a 9% fall in spot prices over the year 2013. The aluminium division of Rio- Rio Tinto Alcan, reported last week underlying earnings of around US$557 million for 2013 - US$503 million higher than in 2012 - and there has been an improvement in the margin. "Market premia on aluminium shipments have continued to perform strongly during 2013," it said. The managing director of Salt Funds Management, Matthew Goodson said Rio Tinto's view on aluminium showed the market may be bad than the worst. "And that of course has major implications for New Zealand because of the major swing factor that it has on electricity demand," Goodson said. Tiwai is the...
Alcoa says no decision has been made to shut its aluminium smelter at Geelong, and will tell employees if the Point Henry plant will continue to operate by the end of March. A cloud hangs over the smelter's future, with $40 million of government assistance granted by the federal and Victorian governments in 2012 running out at the end of June. Alcoa in January said the company would not be seeking further government assistance for the smelter, which employs around 500 full-time employees. A caller to 3AW radio on Monday said that an announcement on the smelter's future could be made as soon as Tuesday. But an Alcoa spokeswoman said its fate had not been decided. Advertisement "At this stage no decision has been made and we remain committed to getting back to our employees by [the] end of...
UAE’s aluminium sector’s experts will address business leaders, scientists and engineers from all over the world at one of the leading industry events, the TMS Annual Meeting and Exhibition, which started on Feb 16 in the US. The TMS 2014 will be held in San Diego, California till February 20. The exhibition aims at bringing expert people from metals, minerals and materials sector to exchange their knowledge in technology and science. The representatives of Emirates Aluminium (Emal) and Dubai Aluminium (Dubal) presented five papers at TMS conference. DX Reduction Cell Technology was developed by the Dubal, which offers productivity as well as environmental performance, is also used by Emal to produce the aluminium. The technology operates at high amperage and enables the metal to be...
After seven-eight years of acute oversupply, the world aluminium market is now undergoing a structural change from surplus to deficit. An extended period of overcapacity has been a feature of the world aluminium market for some time now. No doubt, producers in the western world have cut back output but their efforts have been largely neutralised by new capacity additions in China and West Asia. The result has been sustained downward pressure on aluminium prices. No wonder, LME prices have continued to remain in a narrow range of $1,700-1,900 a tonne. With long waiting time or queue at LME warehouses, producers were compensated, albeit partially, by the rise in aluminium premiums; but that too is beginning to decline with the LME proposing new rules of warehousing and delivery scheduled to...
Calderys, a world leader in Refractory Solutions and a subsidiary of Imerys, announces that it acquired Termorak Group, a company specialized in Refractory Services (including lining design, refractory material sourcing, as well as installation work and inspections). With € 17.2 million revenue in 2012, Termorak is based in Finland, Sweden and Thailand. Through the acquisition of Termorak, Calderys expands its position in the Petrochemical and Pulp & Paper Industries, as well as in the Power business in Finland, Russia, the Baltic countries and in South-East Asia. Mr. Markus Larkimo, Managing Director of Calderys Finland OY states: "Calderys has been present in the Finnish market for over 80 years of service to the iron and steel, ferrous foundry, and boiler industries. Termorak’s...
