As the global aluminium supply chain continues to swing between shifts and crunches, how has Europe fared on the production front in the 2026 year-to-date calendar? Substantially well, going by the output figures. Between January and September 2026, the European continent, including Russia, has produced a total of 5.56 million tonnes of primary aluminium, building a significant year-on-year growth chart. The nine-month growth chart Set against the same period of 2025, the first nine months of 2026 show a clear lift in output. From January to September 2026, Europe, including Russia, produced 5.56 million tonnes of primary aluminium, raising the annual growth rate by 5.69 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) over the 5.26 million tonnes produced in 2025. Explore the production, demand and...
The proposed $4 billion Oklahoma Primary Aluminum (OPA) smelter, a joint venture between Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) and Century Aluminum, is targeting civil works in the second quarter of 2027, with first hot metal expected between mid- and late 2030. Realization of the 750,000-metric-ton project would render it the first new US primary aluminum smelter in nearly 50 years. However, local restrictions, environmental permitting and ongoing legal hurdles clouded its path towards maintaining the construction timeline. A local moratorium and an April 7 ballot sit on the same calendar. Explore the production, demand and consumption forecasts of bauxite and alumina in our report: “ Global Bauxite & Alumina Market Forecast to 2036: Supply–Demand, Trade Flows & Price Outlook ” A...
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Century Aluminum Company, a global primary aluminium producer with operations in the United States and Iceland, has posted about its booming year ended December 31, 2024, with a new 5-year high record production at Sebree, steady net sales, and increased net income amid surging energy costs and raw material prices. Image source: Century Aluminum On February 20, 2025, the company released its financial and operational results attributing all the gains to a nonrecurring benefit from a force majeure settlement, recovery from Hurricane Beryl, improved realised metal prices, and flattering Inflation Reduction Act 45X, which was an Advanced Manufacturing Production Credit to promote US production of critical minerals, including primary aluminium. For the entire year, Century reported its net...
This week, stocks of three Indian aluminium giants, Hindalco, NALCO and Vedanta, have slid downwards for two consecutive sessions. On February 25, shares of Nalco fell 10 per cent in two single-day trading sessions, whereas Vedanta and Hindalco lost 5 per cent to 7 per cent, respectively. Other known names, including Jindal, similarly lost up to 3 per cent on the same day. This incident was a ripple effect of ascending scepticism around tariffs coupled with muted third-quarter earnings for the current fiscal. The Nifty Metal index fell by 1.2 per cent, with 11 out of its 15 constituents in the red. Market analysts are predicting that this incident is not just a blip, but a sign of continued volatility. The shortened trading week and the impending derivatives expiry are historical factors...
Last week’s market has been all about dynamic pricing across the aluminium sector — both for AL as a product and, in turn, for the affected allied industries. The market spots records of resuming downstream production after a prolonged Chinese holiday break. Hence, owing to the growing bullish sentiment in the new-energy auto sector, prices for several key primary commodities (generally termed as primary or raw material) show distinctive trends that market participants should closely monitor. Aluminium: upward momentum with consolidated ranges Aluminium prices have registered a fair increase, with the LME average price rising by 0.46 per cent to USD 2,648 per tonne. In China, the mainstream SHFE price now stands at approximately RMB 20,720 per tonne (USD 2,890 per tonne), marking a 0.56...
New Zealand Aluminium Smelter (NZAS) chief executive Chris Blenkiron announced on Tuesday, February 25 that the company will delay its planned potline ramp-up at Tiwai until August 31. Following last year's announcement to increase production, the decision aims to ensure Meridian Energy has access to 50MW of electricity during the winter months. With winter approaching, Southland's Tiwai Point aluminium smelter is preparing for what is typically a demanding season. He stated that NZAS had been gradually restoring production after implementing a 205MW demand reduction to support New Zealand during last winter's energy shortage. Due to the complexity of the ramp-down and ramp-up process, full production was not expected to resume until April. "While it is always a difficult decision to...
The first month of 2025 began with a 2.73 per cent Y-o-Y rise in primary aluminium production but experienced a mild monthly dip, as shown by the International Aluminium Institute data. The annual growth was primarily backed by almost all the major global primary aluminium-producing regions, barring North America and Oceania. However, monthly output was affected by declines of 1,000 tonnes each in Africa and North America. Image source: Freepik According to IAI, the world's primary aluminium production in January 2025 totalled 6.252 million tonnes versus 6.254 million tonnes in December 2024 and 6.086 million tonnes in January 2024. The daily average output was 201,700 tonnes, representing no change from the previous month but a growth of 2.75 per cent Y-o-Y from 196,300 tonnes. Insights...
Alcoa, a global aluminium production entity with major smelters in Canada, Australia, and Iceland, among other locations, has expressed concerning statements that over 100,000 employment losses can be anticipated owing to the proposed implementation of US aluminium and steel tariffs of flat 25 per cent on all imports by the Donald Trump government. Bill Oplinger, CEO of Alcoa, conveyed at the BMO Global Metals and Mining Conference in Florida that the tariff implementation could lead to a massive loss of about 20,000 employments in the US aluminium industry and a further 80,000 jobs across the value-chain sectors that support it. "This is bad for the aluminium industry in the US. It's bad for American workers," said Oplinger, an engineer by educational qualification who became CEO in...
The United States' unprecedented support for Russia in blocking a draft resolution by Ukraine at the United Nations has sent shockwaves through the market as soon as the news surfaced today, February 25. For the first time in three years since Russia invaded Ukraine, the United States has come out in support of Russia. The resolution called for "de-escalation, an early cessation of hostilities and a peaceful resolution of the war against Ukraine, marked by enormous destruction and human suffering, including among the civilian population, in line with the Charter of the United Nations and international law". Backing Russia, United States President Donald Trump stated that "major economic development transactions with Russia" could take place, and just hours after the statement, Putin...
The United States and Canada have long shared more than just a border — they’ve built an aluminium supply chain that’s deeply intertwined and vital to both economies. As the US grapples with declining aluminium production and mounting energy costs, the importance of Canada’s role has never been clearer. Let’s break down why the US aluminium industry leans so heavily on its northern neighbour — and why replacing Canada simply isn’t an option. Image Source: https://www.benefitsandpensionsmonitor.com/ A shrinking giant: The state of US aluminium production Once a global leader in aluminium production, the US now produces just 1.2 per cent of the world’s aluminium supply. According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the US had a primary aluminium production capacity of 1.36 million tonnes in...
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba), the world's largest smelter ex-China, has announced its fourth quarter and full-year results for 2024, reporting an impressive growth in financial output, coincided with its new high of net finished production at 1,622,261 tonnes. Image source: Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. Fiscal figure In the fourth quarter of the year, the company yielded a profit of BD37.1 million (US$98.6 million), which was 58.5 per cent higher than a profit of BD23.4 million (US$62.2 million) earned in Q4 2023. For the full year, Alba reported a profit of BD184.5 million (US$490.8 million), up by 56.4 per cent from BD118 million ($313.9 million) . Alba's comprehensive income in Q4 2024 was BD38.1 million (US$101.3 million) against BD16.3 million (US$43.2 million) a year ago – up by 134.4...
Hindalco has announced that it will invest INR 15,000 crore (USD 1.81 billion) in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh to expand the company’s aluminium smelting capacity in both current and new sites. The investment was announced at the Madhya Pradesh Global Investors Summit 2025 in Bhopal after signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Madhya Pradesh government. Image Source: https://www.hindalco.com Speaking to ANI, Hindalco’s Managing Director Satish Pai commented, “In the next two years, we will be investing about INR 15,000 crores just from the Hindalco side. And we will also be opening a large mine called Banda from the group side.” Hindalco has a state-of-the-art aluminium manufacturing facility in Madhya Pradesh, with pre-invested INR 25,000 crore (USD 3.01 billion)...
India is set to launch its much-anticipated carbon market by 2026, Union Power Minister Manohar Lal announced on February 21, 2025. This initiative will be a game-changer for Indian industries, particularly exporters, as they strive to align with global carbon emission standards. By helping businesses curb emissions and transition away from fossil fuels, the move aims to strengthen India's position in the global marketplace while advancing its sustainability goals. Companies in industries like steel and cement are increasingly concerned about the impact of the European Union’s (EU) Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which imposes tariffs on high-carbon imports. To remain competitive in the EU market, manufacturers will need to adopt greener energy sources and reduce carbon...
Futures: Yesterday, the SHFE aluminium 2504 contract opened at RMB 20,865 per tonne, peaked at RMB 20,895 per tonne, hit a low of RMB 20,820 per tonne, and closed at RMB 20,860 per tonne, up RMB 70 per tonne or 0.34 per cent from the previous day. LME aluminium opened at USD 2,687 per tonne, reached a high of USD 2,730 per tonne, a low of USD 2,686.5 per tonne, and closed at USD 2,730 per tonne, up USD 43 per tonne or 1.6per cent. Macro: (1) US Fed's Bostic: Still expects two interest rate cuts this year, but there is significant uncertainty; Goolsbee: PCE data is unlikely to be as alarming as CPI data. If tariffs lead to higher inflation, the Fed will take it into account. (Bullish ★) (2) US Treasury Secretary Besant: The Fed's September rate cut was too large; no plans to reassess gold...
A new set of sanctions against Russia has been agreed upon between the European Union member states, diplomats confirmed on February 19, 2025. However, this latest package, set to be formally adopted by EU foreign ministers on February 24, 2025, aims to sustain pressure on Moscow ahead of the third anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine geopolitical crisis. Among the measures included is a ban on Russian aluminium imports. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, wrote on a social media platform, “The EU is clamping down even harder on circumvention by targeting more vessels in Putin's shadow fleet and imposing new import and export bans." "We are committed to keep up the pressure on the Kremlin." The EU has introduced its 16 th round of sanctions on Russia. At the same...
NALCO’s announcement of INR 30,000 crore (USD 3.45 billion) investment in aluminium business expansion brought to the public by Union Minister of Coal & Mines and Parliamentary Affairs, Pralhad Joshi, is its first major capex in recent times, including setting up an INR 17,000 crore (USD 1.95 billion) aluminium smelter capacity. State-owned Navratna PSU, National Aluminium Company (NALCO), has chalked out a distribution plan for its progressive INR 30,000-crore expansion plan , marking its first massive capital expenditure in contemporary times. The development project is set to conclude by FY30, with an INR 17,000-crore investment in an additional aluminium smelter construction and noteworthy projects in mining and downstream product manufacturing. Global mining leader Rio Tinto Canada...
Japan has officially requested an exemption from US President Donald Trump’s proposed 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminium, as well as other reciprocal tariffs, according to a report from Tokyo-based Kyodo News. Meanwhile, Vietnam is prepared to engage with the United States to discuss the new tariffs on steel imposed by Washington, aiming to avoid the risk of additional duties, as stated by a spokesperson for its foreign ministry. Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya made the request during a brief exchange with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. Iwaya also expressed Japan’s eagerness to hold high-level security talks between the foreign and defence ministers of both nations “at an early date.” According to a statement from...
Vedanta Aluminium, India’s leading aluminium manufacturer, launched an AI-powered drone system at its Jamkhani coal mine in Odisha. The drone, which started operations on February 13, 2025, provides a real-time solution for blasting clearance and danger zone monitoring. Image Source: https://vedantaaluminium.com/ Equipped with advanced software, the AI-powered drone offers real-time aerial views and automatically captures the movements of humans, animals, and vehicles within a 500-meter blasting zone. This enables officials to remotely monitor operations and receive automated alerts about any activity on the ground through live streaming. The system also allows seamless audio communication between officials, the drone pilot, and the blasting officer, ensuring precise coordination and...
During the World Government Summit 2025 in Dubai, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto met with Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) CEO Abdulnasser Ibrahim Saif Bin Kalban on Wednesday, February 12. The meeting focused on advancing EGA's cooperation plan to boost aluminium production, mainly through developing a smelter that processes bauxite in Indonesia. Image Source: COORDINATING MINISTRY FOR ECONOMIC AFFAIRS OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA For this, EGA , the world's largest producer of premium aluminium and the largest industrial company in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) outside the oil and gas sector, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium (INALUM). CEO Abdulnasser emphasised Indonesia's significant potential as a key...
The aluminium industry has been under the radar ever since Donald Trump imposed tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China. However the latest update has sent another shockwave amongst the industry. In a controversial move, U.S. President Donald Trump has announced a 25 per cent tariff on all steel and aluminium imports, pushing major trade partners to seek exemptions. Scheduled to take effect on March 4, 2025, the tariffs have drawn widespread criticism and raised fears of escalating trade tensions. What will happen next is the most common and highly anticipated question. However, other important updates surrounding the upstream aluminium industry includes Nalco setting a new benchmark with 3-fold increase in net profit, Hydro’s 2024 performance, and others have created significant impact...
