The London Metal Exchange (LME) aluminium price chart recovered on the November 9 trading session, wish cash reporting nearly 1 per cent gain compared to the November 6 close. Longer-dated contracts and inventories, however, edged lower. The LME aluminium cash bid as well as offer prices gained 0.96 per cent day-on-day on November 9. The bid recovered from USD 3,115 per tonne to USD 3,145 per tonne. The offer price surged from USD 3,117 per tonne to USD 3,147 per tonne . Explore- Most comprehensive and forward-looking industry-focused report — Global Bauxite & Alumina Market Forecast to 2036: Supply–Demand, Trade Flows & Price Outlook The LME aluminium three-month bid price reported a 0.33 per cent rise from USD 3,049 per tonne on November 6 to USD 3,059 per tonne on November 9. The offer...
Iran is expanding its domestic aluminium manufacturing capabilities through nanostructured anodising technology, developing specialised aluminium sheets and profiles for applications across aerospace, medical equipment, electronics and automotive industries. The initiative reflects a move towards higher-value aluminium products by improving the metal's surface properties and expanding its potential industrial applications. According to Pars Today, citing Mehr News Agency, an Iranian aluminium complex is using the technology to produce aluminium components with nanostructured ceramic coatings designed to improve resistance to corrosion and wear. The complex is also working on developing specialised aluminium standards and has so far established eight standards in this field. The...
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A sharp contraction of Aluminium and Aluminium products was noted in China imports and exports. The General Administration of Customs came out with a brief report on the imports of metals showing that Aluminium and Aluminium product imports declined by 26.2% in the month of January. The total imports were 69024 tonnes only in January 2013. Chinese inclination on scrap imports is increasing. The total imports of Aluminium scrap was 210000 tonnes, up 56%. China customs reported a decline of 15.6% in total Aluminium exports that stood at 50431 tonnes. LME Aluminium forwards was trading at $ 2104 per tonne, against $ 2105 per tonne on Thursday. The metal was trading at Rs 111.6 per kg, up 0.2% on Multi Commodity Exchange.
The cash price of primary Indian aluminum fell 1.2 percent on Feb. 6, 2013, making it the day’s biggest mover on MetalMiner’s daily pricing service. On the LME, the primary aluminum cash price declined 0.2 percent to $2,074 per metric ton. Also on the LME, the aluminum 3-month price held steady around $2,116 per metric ton. Chinese aluminum prices were mixed for the day. The cash price of Chinese aluminum weakened by 0.1 percent. Chinese aluminum scrap saw little change in its price yesterday. The price of Chinese aluminum billet held steady. For the fifth consecutive day, the price of Chinese aluminum bar held flat.
Shipments of primary aluminum by North American producers totaled 1,221 thousand metric tonnes (kmt) in the fourth quarter of 2012, off 4.9 percent from the fourth quarter 2011 total of 1,284 kmt. Shipments of primary billet were up 5.4 percent year-over-year while shipments of foundry ingot increased 15.7 percent during the same period. Compared to the previous quarter, shipments of primary rose 4.2 percent. Preliminary shipments for 2012 totaled 4,821 kmt, off 2.7 percent from the 2011 total of 4,953 kmt.
Aluminum giant Alcoa Inc. (AA) has announced that it has received the 2013 Accessory of the Year Award in China. The company was honored in the Best Safety & Energy Savings category. Alcoa received the award based on its contribution to China’s bus manufacturing industry. The awards were sponsored by trade publications CNbuses.com and shangyongqiche.com, with support from the China Tourism News. Alcoa’s award win was dedicated to three factors. The first one being its brand influence and reputation. The second factor taken into consideration was application of Alcoa's products in the China bus market. Alcoa has a presence in China since 2004 and advanced processes and technologies, as well as high-quality products have made positive contributions to the development of China's bus...
Banks in Europe have begun trading swaps designed to protect industrial users of aluminium - who already have to pay steep premiums above the London Metal Exchange (LME) cash price to get hold of metal - from yet bigger surcharges. Banking and industry sources say customer enquiries on using the new derivatives products are gaining traction. But volumes are limited because many potential clients think it is unjust and could become unnecessary to pay extra for derivatives to hedge against rising premiums at a time when there is a global glut of aluminium. "It's an active market (in the U.S. and Europe), we have regular trades going through the platform," Robert Abel, director, EMEA metals sales and origination at Deutsche Bank in London, told Reuters. "It's a small market and slightly...
Russia's United Company RUSAL Plc, the world's top aluminium producer, said on Friday it expects 2013 global aluminium demand will rise 6 percent, fuelled by investment in large-scale infrastructure projects in China. RUSAL's positive tone comes after a tough year for aluminium produers due to the global economic slowdown, although it cautioned the European debt crisis would continue to weigh on aluminium prices in the short term. Hong Kong-listed RUSAL, controlled by Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska, said it was also optimistic thanks to growing demand in India and North America for the metal, used in products such as drink cans, aircraft and iPads. "Although the pace of global recovery remains open to debate, there were clear signs towards the end of 2012 that key markets in China,...
Rio Tinto Alcan said on Thursday the company is exploring several options for its Sebree aluminum plant, including a possible closure following a proposed rate hike by the Big Rivers electricity cooperative in Henderson, Kentucky. "We are evaluating all options for the future," a Rio Tinto spokesman said. "Closure is an option, but not the only one. We are exiting the contract which has lead to the step of looking at all options." According to the company website, the Sebree plant employs about 480 workers. The spokesman said Rio Tinto Alcan notified Big Rivers Electric Corp recently that it will end its contract with the power supplier for its Sebree, Kentucky, smelter in January 2014. Big Rivers was not available for comment. If the rate increase is approved, the higher power rates...
The monthly Aluminum registered a value of 98 in February, a decrease of 1 percent from 99 in January. The aluminum price index fell on the back of softer China pricing for primary aluminum and billet and for European semi-finished products. “We continue to have an interesting situation with aluminum in that global manufacturing activity continues to support aluminum demand and mid-west premiums continue at record levels,” said Lisa Reisman, managing editor of MetalMiner. Indeed, both LME premiums and US Midwest premiums are both soaring, and the warehouse financing game isn’t helping. Nick Madden, vice president and chief procurement officer for Novelis, spoke out against the LME’s approach to Reuters, saying that although the exchange sympathizes with aluminum consumers, they’re not...
After falling 5.3 percent, European 1050 aluminum landed below $3,000 per metric ton, making it the biggest mover on the weekly Construction MMI. Meanwhile, Chinese aluminum bar prices held steady from the previous week. The Chinese low price of 62% Australian iron ore fines rose 0.9 percent over the past week. US shredded scrap fell 0.8 percent. The week finished with no movement for Chinese H-beam steel. The price of Chinese rebar also did not change since the previous week. However, the weekly US Rocky Mountain bar fuel surcharge spiked 4.3 percent last week. The weekly US Gulf Coast bar fuel surcharge increased 4.2 percent, and the weekly US Midwest bar fuel surcharge rose 3.6 percent. The Construction MMI® collects and weights 9 metal price points used within the construction...
The aluminum 3-month price saw the biggest increase on MetalMiner’s aluminum price index at 1.2 percent on the LME, finishing at $2,117 per metric ton for Feb. 5, 2013. At $2,078, the primary aluminum cash price finished the market day on the LME up 1.1 percent per metric ton. The cash price of primary Indian aluminum rose 0.5 percent. Chinese aluminum prices were mixed for the day. The Chinese aluminum cash price weakened by 0.3 percent. Chinese aluminum scrap held its value yesterday. The price of Chinese aluminum billet was essentially unchanged. The price of Chinese aluminum bar continues hovering in place for the fifth day in a row.
Alcoa announced today that John Martin, 48, has been named President of Alcoa Global Primary Products – United States (GPP-US). In this role, Mr. Martin oversees Global Primary Products locations in the United States including six operating smelters, an alumina refinery and a spent potlining recycling facility. Since 2010, Mr. Martin had been Manager of Massena Operations – the longest continually operating aluminum facility in the world, located north of Syracuse in New York State. There, he led significant improvements in production, financial performance, safety and employee engagement, including a safe and successful restart of the Massena East Plant in 2011. “John has held positions of increasing responsibility in Alcoa’s smelting technical and production areas, most recently as...
BHP Billiton remains committed to investing in South Africa, its regional chairman Xolani Mkhwanazi said during a presentation at the Mining Indaba on Wednesday. “It has been alleged that we want to leave South Africa; we are committed to South Africa, there’s nothing furthest from the truth than this.... We have always been ready to put more money where our business makes sense,” he said. He cited as one example of BHP Billiton’s commitment to South Africa the $91.2m it is investing in a manganese smelter in Meyerton, south of Johannesburg. Dr Mkhwanazi said the project demonstrated BHP Billiton’s commitment to the government’s manganese beneficiation strategy, and downstream investment goal. But a new smelter might raise the alarm given that BHP Billiton’s Hillside aluminium smelter in...
Risky events in Europe, including the corruption scandal of Spanish prime minister and the rising support for Italian former prime minister Berlusconi fueled market concerns overnight, driving the US dollar index to grow and LME aluminum prices to fall below USD 2,100/mt during the European trading hours with support at the 10-day moving average. LME aluminum prices finally ended at USD 2,102/mt, down 0.76% from the previous trading day. LME aluminum inventories were down 10,450 mt to 5,147,750 mt. On January 7, the 1305 SHFE aluminum contract price is expected to open lower at RMB 15,220/mt to move between RMB 15,170-15,270/mt. Spot aluminum will be quoted at discounts of RMB 50-90/mt against the most active SHFE aluminum contract price, but transactions will be few ahead of the holiday.
Jesse Gary has been appointed executive vice president, general counsel and secretary of the US-based Century Aluminium. Gary first joined the company in 2010 as associate general counsel and before that worked at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, the law firm. He takes over from William Leatherberry who is leaving the company after eight years of service in June, when Century plans to relocate its headquarters.
Japanese secondary aluminum smelters making ADC12 aluminum alloy are considering alloy imports, rather than producing it themselves, due to higher costs of aluminum scrap feedstock, market sources said Tuesday. Russian AK5M2 scrap-based feedstock used for ADC12 production was offered at $2,050-2,100/mt CFR Japan for February-March shipments, said Japanese trade and smelter sources. There is usually a spread of $150/mt or more, between AK5M2 feedstock and ADC12 prices. ADC12, heard at Yen 200/kg ex-plant (2,160/mt) for this week's shipments, will not cover production costs, said trade and smelter sources. Meanwhile, Russian ADC12 was heard offered at $2,190/mt CIF Japan for February-March shipments, traders said. One smelter official said a Yen 25/kg ($270/mt) spread is required between...
Alcoa, the world's largest producer of primary and fabricated aluminium, has received a 2013 Catalyst Award for honouring innovative, organisational approaches that address the recruitment, development and advancement of women. The company's Building Opportunities for Women in a Hard Hat Company initiative wowed the judges as it showcased how the aluminium giant 'broke down barriers in a male-dominated industry and achieved greater gender representation through an aggressive diversity agenda'. Alcoa chairman and CEO Klaus Kleinfeld said the company was more competitive because it makes inclusion through diversity a priority. "We built meaningful goals into our operations, compensation, and human resource systems to drive progress," Kleinfeld said, adding that the Catalyst Award has...
With global demand for aluminium set to reach 70Mmt by 2020, it looks like GCC producers will be boosting production capacity to 5Mmt by 2014 when the region will account for over 13% of the world's total production. The GCC's expansion in terms of aluminium production has a lot to do with aggressive investments in the region in the form of new smelter development and the fact that operators in the area have easy access to low-cost materials and are close to the main global markets of Europe, the USA and the Far East. According to the Gulf Aluminium Council (GAC) around 80% of primary aluminium produced in the region is exported around the world. The Gulf's aluminium investments are likely to top $55 billion by 2022 with $22 billion in the UAE, $7 billion in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait and...
Qatalum CEO Tom Petter Johansen has spoken alongside Norsk Hydro, Qatar University and the Norwegian University of Science & Technology at a seminar entitled Aluminium – The Sustainable Modern Metal For the Future of Qatar. In his presentation, Johansen predicted a rise in demand for aluminium in the Gulf region due to massive infrastructural development in the GCC states. Speaking to an audience of experts in the field, Johansen said there has never been a more exciting time to be involved in the aluminium industry. "...and there is nowhere more exciting to be than here in Qatar," he added, explaining how the opportunities for growth, diversification and innovation 'have barely scratched the surface'. The event took place at the Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP) in Qatar. The QSTP...
