Asian aluminium premiums are facing more pressure ahead of Q4 talks. CRU’s Asia CIF aluminium premium is now USD 202 per tonne, well below the USD 395 per tonne Main Japanese Port (MJP) Q3 benchmark. MJP Q4 offers have also dropped sharply. They fell from USD 325 per tonne in early September to USD 245–260 per tonne as the new quarter approaches. This shows weaker sentiment in the market. Aluminium premiums are under pressure across Asia, especially in Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan. These markets are more exposed to spot price changes, so premiums can move quickly when supply or demand changes. 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 " Premiums...
Rio Tinto is connecting its Kitimat aluminum production with a new British Columbia-based supply chain through a long-term agreement with RevoCast Aluminum Billets Ltd., under which aluminum from BC Works will be combined with recycled aluminum to produce billet for North American manufacturers. Announced on September 28, the agreement gives Rio Tinto exclusive marketing rights for aluminum billet produced at RevoCast’s newly commissioned Langley casting facility. The operation combines primary aluminum from BC Works with recycled aluminum processed by RevoCast. 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 ” The deal, however, will not change...
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Iran's aluminum ingot output stood at 178,939 tons in the first half of the current Iranian calendar year, the IRNA News Agency reported. The amount shows 6.6 per cent increase in comparison to the same period of last year. Some 29,632 tons of aluminium ingot were produced in Iran during the sixth calendar month (August 22 -- September 22), which is 6 per cent more than the previous year. It was earlier announced that Iran plans to increase its annual aluminum ingot production capacity up to 910,000 tons by the end of the Fifth Five-Year Economic Development Plan (March 2016). According to Iranian Deputy Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade Vajihollah Ja'fari, Iran's current per capita consumption of aluminum stands at 4.5 kilogram, while per capita aluminum consumption worldwide now...
In order to boost electricity supply in the country, the current operator of the nation’s premier Aluminum Smelter Company of Nigeria (ALSCON), in Ikot Abasi, Akwa Ibom State, UC RUSAL, has affirmed its readiness to inject approximately 360 mega watt annually to the national grid. However, the Director, Public and Government Relations Department of ALSCON, Tatyana Smirnova, yesterday said that this could only be possible or achieved if the company was connected to the national power grid. The company noted the huge demand for electricity estimated at 40,000mw, annually in the country, but with only 4,517mw capacity available, saying presently ALSCON has gas –fired power plant with installed capacity of 540mw. “The power plant is capable of fully satisfying the electricity needs of the...
Meridian Energy and other power company shares could get a boost if a National victory in the next election looks more certain, an analyst says. Another analyst warns potential investors in Meridian that power companies face a range of uncertainties and volatile profits, and were not necessarily steady earners. However, a reduction in demand for power from the Tiwai Pt aluminium smelter in Southland could actually see Meridian profits improve because it could get higher prices in the wholesale market than the deeply discounted price it now gets from the smelter. In two of the latest political polls, Labour is closing the gap on National and a Labour/Greens government looks odds on in both. The risk of a future Labour/Greens government imposing new controls on the electricity sector, with...
Signals will be neutral for LME aluminium until it gets out of a range of $1,808-$1,860 per tonne. The range has been formed by the Oct. 1 high of $1,860 and the 61.8 percent Fibonacci retracement on the rise from the Sept. 17 low of $1,775.50 to this high. A rise above $1,860 will confirm the extension of a short uptrend that developed from $1,775.50, towards $1,893. On the other hand, a drop below $1,808 will signal completion of the trend and the resumption of the preceding downtrend towards $1,775.50. 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 mentioned in the analyses.
The London Metal Exchange’s plan to ease congestion at warehouses storing near-record amounts of aluminum will accelerate deliveries and reduce premiums paid for supply, at a time when prices are already near a four-year low. European premiums excluding duty will drop as much as 15 percent to $145 a metric ton by the end of the June, the lowest since 2012, according to the median of estimates from 10 consumers, traders, producers and analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News. The rise in physical premiums contrasts with slumping futures. The LME’s benchmark three-month contract fell 11 percent this year and will average $1,900 in the second quarter, when the new LME rules may start, the median of 13 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg shows. This year’s decline in aluminum compares with a...
The UAE has registered $11.2 billion worth of Merger & Aquisition deals so far in 2013, the highest total deal value in the region, according to a Merger market report. M&A activity in Africa and the Middle East (MEA) was valued at $51.6 billion through the first three quarters of the year, matching the annual total of 2012. It also marks the second annual increase by deal value this year. Deal value in the third quarter touched $19.1billion, up 99 per cent compared to the same period last year. However, it fell 3.5 per cent from the previous quarter. The report showed 2013 is the first year since 2007 to see every quarter post total values above $10 billion. Regionally, the Middle East made up 42.8 per cent of total value in the period between Q1 to Q3 with deals valued at $22.1 billion,...
Thousands of people drew paychecks from the sprawling Kaiser Aluminum smelter in north Spokane during its more than 50 years of operation. The California company that bought the Mead site last year is about a third of the way through a project to put people to work on the property again, this time as a new business and industrial park. Rather than renovating the several dozen dusty and dirt-caked buildings on the 170-acre property, owner New Mill Capital LLC is tearing down nearly everything and starting from scratch. New Mill Capital is a division of Industrial Realty Group, a California company that specializes in buying and converting distressed sites. In 2000, for example, IRG bought the vacant, 3,000-acre McClellan Air Force Base near Sacramento. After cleanup and renovation, the...
China’s economy is expected to continue picking up speed next year, with metals demand helped by state-led urbanisation projects. Recent economic data has reinforced hopes for a sustained recovery, with factory output in August hitting a 17-month high, retail sales growing at their fastest pace this year and power production posting the second-highest monthly growth this year. Aluminium consumption is expected to grow more than 10 per cent next year from about 24 million tonnes estimated for this year, two smelter sources said. The sector should benefit from more building activity and Beijing’s efforts to boost demand to tackle overcapacity in the industry, with growth picking up from near 10 per cent this year, they said. A manager at a plant that uses primary aluminium to manufacture...
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C (Alba) continues to maintain a positive momentum in Q3 2013 with sales figures up by 4.2% year-on-year to reach 227,758 metric tonnes (mt) versus 218,507 mt in Q3 2012 while production figures increased by 10,377 mt to reach 230,058 mt as compared to the same period of 2012. Sales figures for the month of September alone rose by 14.7% to reach 94,000 mt. In addition, Alba continued to capitalise on the sound demand of Value- Added products and closed the third quarter of 2013 with an average of 66% of total shipments versus 65% for the same period in 2012. Sales figures for the first nine months of 2013 inched up by 2.7% year-on-year to 682,188 mt ahead of the company's own forecast for the period. Production figures year-to-date were up by 3% - reaching 682,785 mt...
Rio Tinto Alcan recommends that energy prices be made more competitive to bolster the growth of the aluminium industry in Quebec. During the Public Consultation on Energy Issues in Quebec, Rio Tinto Alcan proposed that Quebec's new energy policy must affirm the province's resolution to offer competitively priced energy for the growth of its manufacturing sector, including the aluminium industry, a key economic driver for Quebec. "The growth of the aluminium industry worldwide relies on competitive energy prices, and Quebec has an opportunity to secure its position as a leading aluminium producer in the world," stated Rio Tinto Alcan Primary Metal president and chief executive officer, Arnaud Soirat: "The world's most competitive economies rely on a strong manufacturing sector that fosters...
Mongolia is switching things up and have recently “passed a law aimed at reviving foreign investment by easing restrictions on investors in key sectors such as mining and by providing greater certainty on the taxes they must pay,” reports Reuters. “The new regulations take effect on Nov 1 and replace two previous laws, including one that imposed restrictions on foreign investments in strategic sectors after state-owned Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) made a bid to take control of Mongolia-focused coal miner SouthGobi Resources in 2012.” A 1.6 percent decline in European 1050 aluminum made it the biggest mover of the week on the weekly Aluminum MMI®. European 5083 plate prices ticked up 0.2 percent over the past week. The week finished with no movement for Korean 3003 coil premium over...
North American aluminum shipments are set to slow considerably this year, with an expected increase of 1% over 2012 levels, according to researcher Lawrence Capital Management. In a report released Thursday, the researcher said it is expecting shipments to hit 23.4 billion lb, following a rise of 6% last year to 23.2 billion lb. The US market should be a tad stronger, it said, up 2% to 19.8 billion lb this year, with exports poised for their first decline since the global recession. But looking longer term, the outlook is "better," the analyst said. It said that both the near-term and longer-term outlooks are being driven primarily by the auto market. "Ongoing substitution of aluminum for steel, with the next wave coming in the form of aluminum auto-body sheet, combined with the cyclical...
The news hasn’t been good this week for aluminum manufacturer Alcoa Inc. It’s stock price is tumbling, a Duetsche Bank analyst downgraded the stock to sell and forecasters were predicting aluminum prices would fall 12 percent or more over the next two years. All this on the heels of Alcoa being booted last month from the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The future of Alcoa, which recently announced plans for a $275 million expansion of its Blount County manufacturing operation, will have a significant impact on the East Tennessee economy. The company is investing in a plant upgrade in a move to take advantage of rising demand for aluminum by auto makers. Alcoa will kickoff earnings season with the release of its quarterly financial report on Tuesday.
Century Aluminum has some interesting assets and future growth plans. Century Aluminum Co has five main production facilities, one under construction and two carbon cathode/anode manufacturing facilities. The firms, a leading aluminum production facility, is located in Iceland and the new facility under construction is also located in Iceland. Century Aluminum Co’s Icelandic facility is actually a jewel in the company’s crown. The plant cost $1 billion to construct but has generated sales in the region of $1 billion during the past two years. Moreover, the facility gets its power from geothermal and hydro power sources, which cuts costs and pushes the average cash cost per ton of aluminum produced to a level 17 percent below the cash cost per ton of production for the company’s U.S.-based...
Alcoa, Inc. is set to "officially" kick start the third quarter earnings season by reporting its financials on Oct.8. The company will hold a conference call on the same day at 5:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) to discuss the results and business developments. Alcoa is the world's leading producer of primary and fabricated aluminum, as well as the world's largest miner of bauxite and refiner of alumina. Alcoa employs approximately 61,000 people in 30 countries across the world. Wall Street expects Alcoa to earn 6 cents a share, according to analysts polled by Thomson Reuters. The consensus estimate implies an increase of 100 percent from last year's 3 cents a share. In the past four quarters, Alcoa has managed to beat the street's view thrice at a rate between 16.5 percent and 37.5 percent....
Aluminium Smelter Company of Nigeria, ALSCON in Ikot Abasi Akwa Ibom state, has commissioned a new water project in one of its host communities. According to the Director of Public Relations of the company, Mrs. Tatyana Smirnova, the water project is one among fifteen others so far provided by the company in its operational area. She said, it was part of the company’s commitment to develop its stakeholder’s communities through investment of life enhancing programmes, stressing that; such would help address the social and economic well being of the people. “The project we are commissioning today is the second water project our company has provided for the people of Edemaya clan. It is also the 15th project the company has undertaken in Ikot Abasi Local government area since the programmee...
Ormet Corp will immediately close its 270,000-tonne-per-year aluminum smelter in Hannibal, Ohio, a casualty of historically low metal prices and "uncontrollable" power costs, the company said on Friday. The move follows a ruling on Wednesday by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO), which approved some major changes to Ormet's power contract with energy supplier American Electric Power Co Inc. The state power regulator listed a number of conditions, including requiring the company, which filed for bankruptcy protection in February, to employ at least 650 full-time workers through 2018. Under those terms, costs would have increased by some $108 million next year, rather than falling by $54 million as outlined in Ormet's plan. "Due to the decision, Ormet cannot emerge from...
The UAE's Senaat group and Ducab plan to build an aluminum rod mill in the latest metals sector collaboration between companies owned by the governments of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, the UAE's official WAM news agency said Thursday. The joint venture, Ducab Aluminium, proposes to build a factory with an annual output capacity of 50,000 mt of aluminum rods at an estimated capital cost of $60 million. The plant will also produce electrical connectors and wiring. The manufacturing facility will be located in Abu Dhabi's Khalifa Industrial Zone (Kizad), close to an aluminum smelter operated by Emirates Aluminium, or Emal, the joint venture aluminum refiner co-owned by the Abu Dhabi and Dubai governments. The two adjacent emirates respectively have the largest and second largest economies of the...
