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...
Grow with
AL Circle
Union Minister of Mines Dinsha Patel said that Union Group of Ministers (GoM) will take decision on Nalco divestment. Patel said that the government is yet to take a final call on stake dilution as the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) assigned to take the call has deferred the decision due to disagreement over share valuation. Union Minister said this while addressing media at Bhubaneswar on Wednesday. Patel said that the employees of public sector National Aluminium Company (Nalco) are not opposed to the government’s plan to dilute stake in the company. He further added that, there was earlier proposal to dilute 30 per cent, but the recent proposal talks about only 12.5 per cent. So I do not see why there would be any objection.
The January Aluminum MMI held steady this past month at 99. Prices for nearly every aluminum element contained in the monthly aluminum price index held constant, and movements were limited to a very tight range. “The Aluminum MMI has held up strongly since the start of 2012, slipping only one point from a year ago,” said Lisa Reisman, managing editor of MetalMiner, “despite the LME warehouse finance games playing out over the course of this year with available stocks declining [see chart below], aluminum remains in stable supply.” The largest US aluminum producer Alcoa announced fourth quarter results earlier this week, and indicated aluminum demand should grow by 7 percent for 2013 while secondary aluminum products (e.g. semi’s) continue to provide strength for Alcoa’s earnings (over...
Alcoa — the largest US aluminium producer — sees global demand growth for the commodity recovering to 7% this year as China’s economic rebound drives demand for cans, transport and office buildings. Aerospace demand would increase by as much as 10% as aircraft makers faced record backlogs, the company said on Tuesday in its fourth-quarter earnings presentation. It also predicted that aluminium consumption may increase 19% in China’s heavy-truck and trailer industry, while US commercial building and construction expands for the first time in four years. "The fundamentals are pretty positive," CEO Klaus Kleinfeld said. "We will absolutely see the rebound" in aluminium prices. Demand in China, the world’s largest aluminium user, would grow 11% this year to 23-million tons as stimulus...
Norwegian aluminium maker Norsk Hydro maintained its outlook for primary aluminium demand this year, even as rival Alcoa released a bullish projection a day earlier, its top executive said on Wednesday. "We haven't changed our position for the future growth of aluminium," Chief Executive Richard Brandtzaeg told Reuters on the sidelines of an industry conference. The company said it estimates the market outside China could grow 2-4 percent this year after last year's 2 percent rise as demand recovers, producers reduce capacity, and bloated stock levels are reduced. U.S. rival Alcoa, which is usually more bullish on market prospects than Hydro, said on Tuesday it was cautiously optimistic demand for the metal will continue to grow in 2013, and estimated growth at 7 percent. "Of course the...
The 3-month price of aluminum fell 2.7 percent on January 7, 2013 to $2,088 per metric ton on the LME, making it the day’s biggest mover on our aluminum price index. The cash price of primary aluminum closed at $2,055 per metric ton. Following a couple days of improvement, prices fell by 2.5 percent on the LME. The cash price of primary Indian aluminum declined 2.3 percent. Chinese aluminum bar, scrap, billet and cash prices were flat for the day.
Asian stock markets rose Wednesday after the fourth-quarter earnings season got off to a positive start in the U.S. with aluminum giant Alcoa forecasting higher demand for 2013. Demand for aluminum has been hurt by the weak global economy, but Alcoa predicted a 7 percent increase in demand this year, slightly better than the 6 percent increase in 2012. Because Alcoa makes aluminum for so many key industries, investors study its results for clues about the health and direction of the overall economy. “Regional markets are mostly firmer after the Alcoa result set the tone early in Asia,” said Stan Shamu of IG Markets in Melbourne in a market commentary. “Alcoa’s results are generally considered a bellwether for the global economy and the fact that the aluminum giant forecasts higher demand...
Asian aluminum premiums have held steady in muted trading during the holiday season, with business being done on a short-term contract basis following last year's premiums volatility. "Spot Main Japanese Port (MJP) premiums were at $240 to $245 per tonne, same as long-term quarterly premium(s)," a trader in Tokyo said. More buyers in Asia are switching to quarterly prices from fixed prices for the year, continuing a trend from last year. "Japan has always been on a quarterly basis. ... Participants in Southeast Asia want to buy quarterly (based on the) MJP benchmark," a major producer told AMM sister publication Metal Bulletin. "You have to be very brave to buy on a fixed basis. ... A vast number of contracts have been of a floating nature," he added. Demand is very slow, and "more...
Traded volumes of futures and options on the London Metal Exchange rose 9% in 2012 as a 10.6% rise in futures turnover offset a 19.1% drop in options. But while primary aluminium remained the most actively traded contract, its volume edged down 2% year on year, according to figures released by the exchange Tuesday. Total futures and option turnover on the LME reached 159,719,881 lots in 2012, up from 146,597,545 lots in 2011. Lot sizes on the LME vary from contract to contract, as follows: aluminium alloy and North American aluminium alloy, 20 mt; nickel, 6 mt; molybdenum, 6 mt; tin, 5 mt; cobalt, 1 mt; steel billet, 65 mt; all other metals, 25 mt. Turnover of primary aluminium dipped to 61,593,410 lots from 62,820,825 lots the previous year, while copper turnover was up 1.5% to...
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba) remains positioned as a regional champion in occupational health, workplace safety and environmental management as the company received the Gulf Aluminium Council (GAC)'s maiden Health & Safety and Environmental Awards. The awards were announced during the 16th Arab International Aluminium Conference (Arabal 2012), which was held at the Grand Hyatt Doha, Qatar in November, 2012. A committee consisting of senior officials from GAC, the International Aluminium Institute and Ma'aden reviewed proposals submitted for the awards. Commenting on the GAC awards, Alba's Chief Executive, Tim Murray said: "It is always a pleasure to be recognised for the work we do in ensuring workplace safety, commitment to occupational health and adherence to environmental...
The Supreme Court has put on hold a Bombay High Court order asking Anil Agarwal-controlled Vedanta Aluminium Ltd (VAL) to deposit Rs 187 crore with it as security in an arbitration case involving a Chinese firm. A two-judge bench on Tuesday granted the stay on a special leave petition (SLP) filed by Vedanta Aluminum, India's largest aluminium maker. Power equipment manufacturer Shenzen Shandong Nuclear Power Construction Co (SSNPCC) has alleged that Vedanta caused it losses by stopping work at its controversial alumina refinery at Lanjigarh, Odisha. The court also gave SSNPCC four weeks' time to file its reply. Based on a plea filed by SSNPCC, the high court in December had asked Vedanta to deposit the security amount till the arbitration proceedings were concluded. SSNPCC had filed an...
Alcoa Inc, the largest aluminum producer in the United States, is cautiously optimistic demand for the metal will continue to grow in 2013, helped in part by strong sales to aerospace and construction customers. Executives offered a positive outlook on Tuesday for 2013, but kept a cautious tone as worries lingered over a looming U.S. budget confrontation. Alcoa expects global aluminum consumption to grow 7 percent in 2013, up slightly from 6 percent in 2012, and maintains global aluminum demand will double between 2010 and 2020. It forecast global consumption growth in the aerospace sector to dip to 9 percent-10 percent in 2013 from 13 percent-14 percent in 2012, and pegged growth in the automotive sector at 1 percent-4 percent, well below 16 percent-17 percent in 2012. The company posted...
Most investors are awaiting China’s economic data due Friday. LME aluminum recovered some losses after falling below USD 2,050/mt thanks to dip-buying by longs. Total positions were up 5,774 lots to 688,450 lots. Resistance, however, remained at the 10-day moving average as longs were wary of buying at higher prices. Finally, LME aluminum closed USD 7.8/mt or 0.37% lower at USD 2,065/mt. Latest LME aluminum inventories decreased 6,850 mt to 5,206,675 mt. Aluminum prices are expected to see little movement prior to the release of China’s economic data for December. LME aluminum should stagnate at USD 2,060/mt and fluctuate in the band of USD 2,040-2,080/mt on Wednesday. The SHFE 1303 aluminum contract is expected to meet resistance at RMB 15,300/mt, with prices between RMB...
The Bahrain All-Share Index erased since the beginning of the year its advances form the last week of Dec. 2012. On Monday, the gauge slipped 0.86% to 1,054.99 points. Aluminium Bahrain or Alba plummeted 2.40% to BD0.41. Earlier in the day, Alba said it reached a production record in 2012 with 890,217 metric tonnes delivered, up from 881,310 mtpa achieved in 2011. The amount produced last year represented its highest metal production in its 41-year history.
Analysts anticipate Alcoa Inc. will kick off the earnings season with improved results over the prior quarter, largely due to a 4-percent uptick in the price of aluminum on the London Metal Exchange. "Aluminum prices were higher sequentially. LME cash averaged $2,001 per tonne in the fourth quarter vs. $1,920 per tonne in the third (quarter). That will be enough to offset some very small headwinds from seasonal weakness in the downstream business and currencies," Tim Hayes, analyst at Richmond, Va.-based Davenport & Co. LLC, told AMM. Davenport & Co. and Barclays Capital Plc estimate Alcoa will report net income of 7 cents per share. Meanwhile, Dahlman Rose & Co. LLC, New York, is forecasting 10 cents; New York-based Jefferies & Co. Inc., 6 cents; and France’s Credit Agricole SA, 5 cents....
The Platts US aluminum premium remained flat at 11 cents/lb plus London Metal Exchange cash, delivered Midwest, January 4, as most market participants were just coming back from the holiday break and finalizing their year-end inventory positions as well as planning for the coming year. Business in 2013 is expected to be solid, and some market participants said premiums may rise by as early as the end January, but for now factors point to a steady premium. "I think premiums are going to stay very, very stable at 11 cents or [possibly will increase]," said a producer. "We've sold a good chunk forward, and I'm seeing a few people coming in for units, but I don't have too many units to sell on a spot basis." A trader thought the premium was stagnant at 11 cents because "no one is coming in...
The cost of ALSCON's assets and its ownership has attracted the most attention. Weekly Trust examines the issues that have raised so many questions. There have been growing concerns and controversies over the actual market price and ownership of the Aluminium Company of Nigeria (ALSCON), since July, last year when the Supreme Court of Nigeria stripped UC Rusal,a Russian firm of its ownership of the Aluminium plant following a suit filed by BFIG Corporation against the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE). These controversies centered around the sudden reduction of the assets value of the plant from N130 billion in 2006 to N30 billion as indicated by the report of an independent auditor which carried out an assessment of the plant prior to its privatization. The reduction has generated a lot...
Tax campaigners are calling on Britain, the World Bank and private investors to return "excessive" profits from a flagship aluminium smelting project in Mozambique started as part of a recovery programme after the country's civil war in the early 1990s. According to a report by Jubilee Debt Campaign in the UK, the Tax Justice Network and Justica Ambiental (Friends of the Earth Mozambique), the Mozal smelter – the biggest private-sector project investment in the former Portuguese colony – has benefited foreign interests much more than the people of Mozambique. The report calculates that foreign investors, governments and development banks have received an average of $320m (£199m) a year from the smelter, in contrast to the Mozambique government's $15m. In other words, for every $1 paid to...
AMG Advanced Metallurgical Group N.V. announces that it has completed the consolidation of its global aluminum operations into one centralized unit, AMG Aluminum, consisting of AMG Aluminum North America, LLC (formerly KB Alloys, LLC), AMG Aluminum UK Limited (formerly part of London & Scandinavian Metallurgical Co. Limited), and the aluminum activities of LSM Brasil S.A. The reorganization was led by Mr. Julien Crisnaire, who was appointed President of AMG Aluminum in June 2012. Headquartered in Wayne, PA, USA, AMG Aluminum is the world-leading provider of aluminum master alloys and grain refiners for the aluminum industry. With over 400 employees and six ISO 9001 manufacturing plants in Brazil, China, the United Kingdom, and the United States, AMG Aluminum offers a comprehensive range...
