Vedanta Aluminium reported record quarterly production across aluminium, alumina and value-added products in Q2 FY27, supported by capacity expansion and efficiency improvements. Vedanta Aluminium Metal Limited, India’s largest aluminium producer, recorded its highest-ever quarterly aluminium production of 649,000 tonnes in Q2 FY27, up 5 per cent year on year from 617,000 tonnes in Q2 FY26. Aluminium output also increased 3 per cent quarter on quarter from 632,000 tonnes in Q1 FY27. For the first half of FY27, production reached a record 1,281,000 tonnes, up 5 per cent from 1,222,000 tonnes in H1 FY26. The company attributed the increase to new smelter volumes and efficiency improvements across existing production lines. Alumina output jumps 37 per cent Vedanta Aluminium’s alumina...
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...
Grow with
AL Circle
Aluminium prices edged lower by 0.92% to INR 123.90 per kg in futures trade today as participants trimmed positions, tracking a weak overseas trend. Further, subdued demand in the spot markets also put pressure on metal prices. At the Multi Commodity Exchange, aluminium for delivery in October shed INR 1.15, or 0.92%, to INR 123.90 per kg in business turnover of 20 lots. Likewise, the metal for delivery in September traded lower by INR 1.10, or 0.89%, to INR 122.65 per kg in 242 lots. Marketmen said apart from subdued domestic demand, a weakening global trend on concern that the US Federal Reserve is getting closer to tapering stimulus, weighed on aluminium futures here.
On Monday, September 2, the day’s biggest mover was the Indian aluminum cash price, which saw a 8.6 percent increase. This increase comes after the price fell for the two previous days. At $1,817 per metric ton, the aluminum 3-month price on the LME was down 3.4 percent from the previous market day. On the LME, the cash price of primary aluminum fell 3.1 percent to $1,775 per metric ton. Chinese aluminum scrap was down 7.5 percent from the previous market day. The cash price of Chinese aluminum weakened by 0.3 percent. After a couple of days of decreasing prices, the price of Chinese aluminum billet held steady. The price of Chinese aluminum bar held steady.
NALCO stock gets Neutral rating from Angel Broking. NALCO's aluminium segment reported a negative EBIT of INR 79cr for the quarter compared to a loss of INR 19cr in 1QFY2013. Staff costs as a percentage of net sales stood at 20.9 percent, compared to 16.5 percent in 1QFY2013 and other expenses also increased 16.7 percent yoy to INR 361cr. Further, other operating income was lower by 19.3 percent yoy to INR 24cr. Hence, EBITDA declined by 49.8 percent yoy to INR 153cr. The other income increased by 27.4 percent yoy to INR 179cr and tax rate also decreased to 23.0 percent compared to 30.1 percent in 1QFY2013. Hence, the company's net profit declined by a lower rate of 28.4 percent yoy to INR 160cr (below our estimate of INR 245cr). Although Nalco has captive bauxite mines, the cost of...
Brazil’s aluminium output fell 8% year-on-year in July as lower metal prices and high energy costs discouraged new investments in primary production. The country’s primary aluminium output stood at 110,800 tonnes in July, compared with 120,400 tonnes in the same month last year, according to Brazil’s aluminium association Abal. In the January-July period, total production of the light metal was 776,800 tonnes, down 8.4% compared with the same period in 2012. “Domestic production is down while demand is possibly growing. We expect the government to reduce import duties soon,” a Brazilian aluminium executive told Metal Bulletin. Brazil currently imposes a 6% duty on aluminium imports. “Increasing imports of primary aluminium are likely to be necessary in the next two years," Tadeu Nardocci,...
China’s Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) decided to scrap its plans (or at least suspend them) to open a $1 billion aluminum smelter in Malaysia, according to Reuters. Since China’s aluminum market operates in a sort of vacuum from the rest of the global aluminum sector, immediate effects on prices may not be all that tangible. However, we all know the last thing primary producers need is more global supply, so at least Chalco’s move may be seen as a good one for now. The cash price of primary Indian aluminum experienced the biggest price decline of the day, dropping 3.3 percent on Tuesday, September 3. The cash price of primary aluminum weakened by 0.6 percent on the LME, settling at $1,764 per metric ton. On the LME, the 3-month price of aluminum declined 0.2 percent to $1,813 per metric...
Ormet Corp. expects aluminum prices to rise as it returns to full capacity at its Hannibal, Ohio, smelter in the coming years, according to details previously redacted from a business plan filed with Ohio regulators. The bankrupt Hannibal, Ohio-based aluminum producer said in the plan that it expects London Metal Exchange cash aluminum prices to average $2,300 per tonne ($1.04 per pound) in 2014 and $2,400 per tonne ($1.09 per pound) in 2015, according to documents filed Aug. 30 with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. Ormet, citing third-party data, also contended that aluminum prices tend to peak above $3,200 per tonne and to bottom below $2,000 per tonne, with tags historically averaging $2,650 per tonne. The plan also assumes a Midwest premium of 12 cents per pound with a $70 per...
Negotiations between producers and buyers for main Japanese port (MJP) aluminium premiums for fourth quarter delivery continued this week, with purchasers pushing for lower premiums. Rio Tinto opened talks for Q4 MJP premiums via a detailed letter it sent to clients on August 24 asking for a premium of $250 per tonne. “We have talked to all producers, the Rio Tinto letter came in at $250 per tonne, another producer is offering at $260 per tonne, another is offering close to $250 per tonne, while a fourth has not offered a concrete number yet,” a source involved in talks at a large trading house in Japan said. The producer offering at $260 is unlikely to make deals at this level, he said, adding that the higher figure was a surprise as most producers follow Rio Tinto’s lead in these...
LME aluminium has completed rebound triggered by support at $1,815 and is expected to break this level on Tuesday. Support is provided by the 76.4 percent Fibonacci retracement on the rise from the Aug. 7 low of $1,773.25 to the Aug. 19 high of $1,949, serving as the last barrier towards $1,773.25. Wave pattern shows that the rebound has been driven by a wave 4, which has peaked around resistance at $1,840, the 61.8 percent retracement. This wave is expected to be totally reversed by a downward wave 5, which is capable of travelling to $1,773.25. 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...
Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) , the top producer of the metal in China, has suspended a smelter project in Malaysia worth more than $1 billion, a company spokesman said on Tuesday. "The project is stalled now," the spokesman told Reuters. Chalco signed a frame agreement with Malaysian company Gulf International Investment Group Holding in 2010 to jointly build the aluminium smelter in Sarawak using local cheap hydro-power. The plant was set to have 370,000 tonnes of capacity a year, according to Chalco's website (www.chalco.com.cn). The agreement had not been proceeded since then because preparation work of the project was not done, the Chalco spokesman said. He did not give details or a timeframe for the suspension. The smelter in Malaysia had been planned to start production in 2013,...
The Honourable Denis Lebel, Minister of Infrastructure, Communities and Intergovernmental Affairs and Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec, today announced that Trans-Al Network Inc. has been granted financial assistance to pursue its activities with companies operating in the aluminium sector. "Our Government supports organizations that, like Trans-Al Network, promote research, innovation, networking and market development and contribute to the diversification of the economy and job creation," said Minister Lebel. The network's mission is to assist companies in the aluminium transformation sector to develop technical and technological expertise by collaborating with Quebec's key players and building synergy within the industry. Established in...
Over-production is literally bankrupting UC Rusal, Alcoa and other aluminum producers. The Russian producer Rusal recently reported a first half 2013 loss of $439 million, versus a breakeven position last year, nominally a $1 million profit. Revenue for the six months to June 30 fell 8.8% year-on-year to $5.2 billion on volume of a whisker under 2 million tons, down 4.5% from a year ago; revenue falling faster than production due to the lower prices. Rusal has already cut production by about 100,000 tons, or 4.5%, but with a cost of production said to be in the region of $1,911 per metric ton in Q2, it is barely breaking even on every ton even when the physical delivery premium of $200-250 per ton is added onto the LME cash price of around $1,750-1,800 per ton. The company has made...
The Islamic Republic of Iran has produced more than 140,000 tons of aluminum ingots in the first five months of the current Iranian calendar year (started March 21, 2013). The volume of aluminum ingot production at the country’s three smelters -- Iranian Aluminum Company (IRALCO), the Al-Mahdi Aluminum Corporation (AAC), and Hormozal -- reached 149,307 tons during the five-month period. The figure marked a seven-percent rise in comparison with the corresponding period of the last Iranian calendar year (ended March 20), IRNA reported. The report added that IRALCO produced 74,717 tons of aluminum ingots in the first five months of the current Iranian calendar year, while the volume of aluminum ingot production in AAC and Hormozal hit 44,830 and 29,760 tons respectively. Meanwhile, Iran...
Two-thirds of aluminum producers would be losing money because of lower premiums paid on top of exchange benchmarks if the world’s biggest metals bourse approves rules to cut waiting times at its warehouses, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. Premiums to obtain the metal will drop 60 percent to about $100 a metric ton as a result of the new rules the London Metal Exchange is expected to approve in October, Benjamin Defay, an analyst at the bank in London, wrote in a report e-mailed today. The LME proposed to oblige warehouses where waits extend for 100 days or more to let more metal out than they take in. The premium that some U.S. buyers paid to get metal rose to a record this year even as global output outpaced demand and stockpiles approached 5.5 million tons, enough to supply North...
Aluminium Corp of China (Chalco), the nation's largest smelter of the lightweight industrial metal, warned of more tough times for the industry as it said its interim net loss narrowed, largely on the back of one-off gains and government subsidies. "There was no alleviation for the oversupply of the company's principal products and the market is likely to turn more gloomy," Chalco said in its interim results statement, adding it would try to cut losses in the second half. Net losses for the year's first-half was 596.5 million yuan (HK$750.32 million), compared to a loss of 3.25 billion yuan in the year-earlier period, based on international accounting standards, the firm said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange. The result beat the average 2.27 billion yuan net loss estimated...
South Korea’s state-run Public Procurement Service (PPS) bought 5,000 tonnes of aluminium through various tenders at the end of last week, a South Korean trader source told Metal Bulletin. Glencore won the tender to sell 1,000 tonnes of western-origin aluminium at a premium of $234.9 per tonne over LME cash price. The metal will be sold on Incheon cif basis. As part of the same tender, Dreample will sell 1,000 tonnes of western-origin aluminium at a premium of $231.5 per tonne cif over LME cash price. The port of delivery is Incheon. LG International won the tender to sell 2,000 tonnes of Indian-orogin metal to the PP at a premium o $236.5 per tonne. The metal will be delivered to Incheon port on a cif basis. Dreample also won a separate tender for 1,000 tonnes of aluminum for non-western...
Aluminium Corporation of China (Chalco) narrowed losses significantly in the first half thanks to its cost reduction efforts and gains realized from disposals of some business lines. The company recorded a total loss of 596 million yuan ($96.6 million) in the first six months, it told Hong Kong Stock Exchange Aug. 31. That compared to a loss of $3.25 billion made a year ago. ``There was no alleviation for the oversupply of the Company’s principle products and the market is likely to turn more gloomy’’ in the second half due to uncertainties in the world economy and structural adjustment in China, Chalco said in interim report. Average domestic price of spot alumina decreased 3.47% year-on-year to 2,536 yuan per tonne in the period while that of three-month aluminium futures on Shanghai...
US and Canadian aluminum demand, defined as shipments by domestic producers and imports, reached an estimated 12.157 billion lb in the first half of 2013, 0.3% less than that of the same period last year, according to preliminary estimates released Friday by the Aluminum Association. Demand for semi-fabricated mill products totaled 8.259 billion lb through June, falling 1.1% from a year ago. Apparent consumption -- defined as demand less exports -- in domestic markets totaled an estimated 10.236 billion lb, down 0.2% from the same period of 2012. Exports of aluminum from the US and Canada, excluding cross-border trade, totaled 1.922 billion lb year to date, down 0.4% over a year ago, while aluminum imports totaled 2.190 billion lb, down 7.6% from last year. Demand for aluminum...
There is a large amount of uncertainty in the global aluminium market with limited upside for prices, BNP Paribas metals analyst Stephen Briggs said Thursday. Briggs said that the market is in a large structural surplus and that it is unlikely to move back into balance in the near-term. "The market will remain in large structural surplus unless the Indonesia-China production chain breaks down, and it is hard to see cutbacks being sufficient to significantly erode excess stocks," Briggs said. Briggs notes that there has already been a significant number of production cuts and closures this year outside of China, notably by producers such as Alcoa, Ormet, Rio Tinto and Rusal. "Further cuts are likely, given that over 60% of the industry has cash costs above the current LME price... with...
