Since late September, LME aluminium prices ended their previous trend of fluctuating at highs and underwent a notable pullback around China’s National Day holiday. The LME spot aluminium settlement price fell from USD 3,248.5 per tonne on September 28 to USD 3,204 per tonne on September 30, with the decline accelerating further in October. It dropped USD 84 per tonne in a single day on October 1 to USD 3,120 per tonne, and fell further to USD 3,109.5 per tonne on October 2. As of October 5, the LME spot aluminium settlement price had declined to USD 3,107 per tonne, a cumulative drop of USD 141.5 per tonne from September 28, or about 4.36per cent. Compared with the previous staged high of around USD 3,350 per tonne, the cumulative pullback exceeded USD 240 per tonne, a decline of about...
Egypt Aluminum stock closed lower on the Egyptian Exchange on October 7, 2026, with shares ending at EGP 339.40 (USD 6.48), down 1.17 per cent from EGP 343.41 (USD 6.55) in the previous session. The stock was 14.08 per cent below its 52-week high of EGP 395.00 (USD 7.54) and 107.53 per cent above its 52-week low of EGP 163.66 (USD 3.12). The company had a market capitalisation of EGP 140.0 billion (USD 2.67 billion). During the session, Egypt Aluminum shares traded between EGP 334.73 (USD 6.39) and EGP 344.99 (USD 6.59), with trading volume at around 307,000 shares, above the stock’s three-month average. The October 7 movement came after Egypt Aluminum reported its fiscal 2026 results on September 20, providing the market with a view of the company’s profitability for the year ended June...
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Authorities in Bosnia sought to avert the closure of the country's top exporter, aluminium smelter Aluminij Mostar, on Thursday with a deal to settle its ownership structure and redundancy issues. Officials said the agreement could be inked on Monday, although negotiations appeared to be ongoing. The smelter in the southern town of Mostar announced last week it would begin shutting down due to high power costs and low metal prices, leading to thousands of job losses and dealing a blow to Bosnia's moribund economy. Aluminij is the mainstay of Bosnia's metals sector, which accounts for more than half of national output. Under the deal, the government of Bosnia's autonomous Muslim-Croat Federation and Aluminij's small shareholders will each take a 44-percent stake in the plant. The remainder...
Chinese investors returned to the market from the three-day holiday yesterday, but downbeat economic figures ignited concerns over economic growth. Asian shares suffered losses, but dip-buying did help commodity prices fall at a slower pace. Greece’s unemployment rate in Q1 hit a new record high at 27.4%. On the other hand, US initial jobless claims last week dropped to 334,000 and retail sales in May rose 0.6% MoM, both beating forecasts. Positive US economic data pushed US shares up, but also sparked worries over the possible exit of QE3. LME aluminum inched down, with resistance at USD 1,870/mt and support at USD 1,850/mt. Investors are cautious ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s new round of policy meeting due early next week. In this context, LME aluminum closed down 0.59% at USD...
Aluminium prices edged up by 0.42 per cent to INR 107 per kg in futures trade on Thursday as participants enlarged their positions, supported by a firming overseas trend. Further, strong demand in the spot markets also influenced metal prices. At the Multi Commodity Exchange, aluminium for delivery in June went up by INR 0.45, or 0.42 per cent, to INR107 per kg in business turnover of 392 lots. Likewise, the metal for delivery in July traded higher marginally by INR 0.40, or 0.37 per cent, to INR 108.30 per kg in 42 lots. Marketmen said apart from increased domestic demand, a firming global trend helped aluminium futures to trade higher.
Negotiations over Swiss industrial group Klesch's potential purchase of U.S. aluminium maker Alcoa's plant in Sardinia have stalled, the Italian Industry Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. Last year Klesch presented a formal expression of interest in the aluminium smelter, which is being closed by Alcoa. The Ministry said it would be looking for other buyers at both the national and international level. It added that Klesch may be contacted again in future.
Stocks of aluminum at Japan's large ports fell 2.2% in May compared with April, a Japanese trading house said on Wednesday. Stocks totaled 272,300 metric tons- with 140,500 tons in Yokohama, 116,800 tons in Nagoya and 15,000 tons in Osaka. While the on-month decline signals a modest increase in demand in Japan, May stock levels are almost 22.0% higher than a year ago when they were 223,200 tons.
Officials with Century Aluminum took the first step last week towards solidifying the status of Rio Tinto’s Alcan Sebree Works Smelter by completing the acquisition of the plant and its 500 employees. The future of both plants has been in question since Century notified Henderson-based Big Rivers Electric in August 2012 that it intended to cease electric service in 12 months. That was the first domino to fall in a series of events that threatened the economic fabric of the surrounding counties. In January 2013 Big River’s filed for a more than 20% rate increase with the Public Service Commission in Frankfort, stating that with the loss of its biggest customer that it would need to recoup money from everyone else. A few weeks later Rio Tinto notified Big Rivers that it also intended to...
Brand awareness of Dubai Aluminium (DUBAL) and Emirates Aluminium (EMAL) in the Americas has been taken to new heights with the two companies' joint lead sponsorship of Harbor's 6th Aluminium Outlook Summit (Harbor 2013), hosted by Harbor Intelligence in Chicago, USA, from 3 to 5 June 2013. This was achieved through a combined booth in the exhibition component of the event, hosting lunch on 4 June 2013 and a presentation by Walid Al Attar (Executive Vice President: Marketing & Sales of DUBAL and EMAL) entitled "UAE's primary aluminium strategy for the Americas and Europe". Given that DUBAL and EMAL have signed an agreement whereby DUBAL is responsible for the marketing and sales of EMAL's entire annual production, the topic provided a platform for Al Attar to highlight the global position...
Rio Tinto has invested nearly 80 million euros in its Dunkirk aluminum plant in the past 18 months and plans to invest at least that much again over the next five years on energy saving and efficiency improvements. The largest aluminum plant in the European Union with 2012 production of 286,600 tons, seaside Dunkirk is the biggest single-point user of electricity in France, consuming 485 megawatts per hour, or half the output of one nuclear reactor at the nearby Gravelines site. As Rio Tinto's 25-year contract with French utility EDF (EDF.PA) expires at the end of 2016, its electricity bill - which adds up to 23 percent of production costs - could rise as much as 80 percent from 2017, as contract prices catch up. But Rio Tinto is investing heavily to improve efficiency. Plant director...
Rio Tinto Ltd. has written $592.1 million off its Tiwai Point aluminium smelter in New Zealand, slashing its value to just $14.8 million. The smelter's future is under cloud as Rio seeks to sell it as part of a clutch of ageing Australasian aluminium production assets, packaged for sale as Pacific Aluminium. The writedown comes after Rio reduced the carrying values of a number of its global aluminium assets in its 2012 results on deteriorating conditions in global aluminium markets. Rio made the drastic writedown in February but it has only just emerged in financial accounts filed with the New Zealand Companies Office. The records also show the miner's subsidiary, Rio Tinto Alcan NZ, which owns 79 per cent of Tiwai Point, reported a loss of $677.9 million for the year to December....
The US May non-farm employment increased more than expected by 175,000, implying sustained recovery of the US economy. However, this also ignited fear that the US Federal Reserve may wind down QE3. China’s CPI climbed 2.1% YoY in May, but PPI shrank unexpectedly to 2.9% YoY. China's industrial production expanded 9.2% YoY in May, but was down MoM. Industrial output in the euro zone grew 1.4% MoM in April, but fell far short of the 0.9% jump in March. These disappointing data caused LME aluminum to snap an 8-day winning streak and shed more than 3.40%. LME aluminum ended Wednesday down 0.86% at USD 1,871/mt. LME aluminum inventories increased 15,725 mt to 5,214,150 mt, while positions were also up 1,054 lots to 768,043 lots. Aluminum prices in China will be dragged down by falling LME...
Aluminium Bahrain (Alba), owner of the world's fourth-largest aluminium smelter, has appointed Ali al-Baqali as chief financial officer, the state-controlled company said in a statement on Tuesday. Baqali joined Alba in 1998 and had been acting chief finance and supply officer since October 2012, according to his LinkedIn profile. Bahraini government fund Mumtalakat owns 69 percent of Alba, with Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) holding a 21 percent stake, data from Zawya, a Thomson Reuters company shows. Alba produces Alba produces more than 890,000 metric tons of aluminium annually, the statement added.
Anil Agarwal's Sterlite Industries might not gain in the dispute with the government over its exercise of a call option in Bharat Aluminium Company (Balco) and Hindustan Zinc (HZL) in the light of the proposed move to allow call and put options in listed companies outside the stock exchanges. Attorney-General G E Vahanvati has told the finance ministry the move should come with a clause that it would be prospective and wouldn't affect ongoing court disputes, said those in the know of the development. The government has decided to allow put and call options in share purchase agreements to permit listed companies to buy or sell equity at a predetermined price in future. The proposal was cleared by Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal within a day of his assuming additional charge of the law...
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. continues to focus on meeting its growth targets despite tough LME market prices, according to a statement issued by the Chairman of Alba's Board of Directors, Mahmood Hashim Al Kooheji. The statement was made following the second quarterly meeting for the year 2013 held on Tuesday, June 11, 2013 at the Gulf Hotel, Bahrain. The Board approved the appointment of Ali Al-Baqali as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) with immediate effect. Commenting on the appointment, the Chairman of Alba's Board of Directors, Mahmood Hashim Al Kooheji said: "I am happy to welcome Ali Al-Baqali as a key member of the Executive Leadership Team. We are confident that with his wealth of financial and procurement knowledge Ali will play a major role in the continued success at Alba." The...
Coal India and Aditya Birla group are among a host of global companies that have shown interest in the assets put on the block by Rio Tinto in Australia. The Anglo-Australian mining giant is selling a 29% stake in its subsidiary Coal & Allied in the New South Wales province and its majority stake in the Clermont mine in Queensland, among other assets. Coal and Allied Industries, managed by Rio Tinto Coal Australia, operates three open cast mines at Bengalla, Hunter Valley Operations and Mount Thorley Warkworth, while Rio Tinto Australia directly controls mines like Clermont, Hail Creek and Kestrel in Queensland. The group has reportedly hired Deutsche Bank to find buyers for stakes in these mines as it is unable to operate them economically. Sources in Coal India said the company’s...
In a move aimed at increasing capacities three-fold over the next three years, Hindalco has started the trial run of its 359-tpa (tons per annum) Mahan aluminium smelter and the 1.5-tpa Utkal alumina. The start of the first two planned expansions is sentimentally positive and will add to volumes growth in FY14, analysts say. The company even plans of commissioning its 359-ktpa Aditya aluminium smelter in the second half of FY14, though analysts do not expect this to be commissioned even in next financial year. However, the 58-ktpa Hirakud aluminium expansion, 135-ktpa flat rolled products project and the 20-ktpa foil project are in the process of being commissioned. These capacity additions come at a time when aluminium prices have softened and the outlook remains weak. The aluminium...
Aluminium prices on Tuesday rose by 0.95 per cent to INR 111.45 per kg in futures trade as speculators enlarged positions amid a firming trend overseas. Besides, increased demand at domestic spot markets also influenced prices. At the Multi Commodity Exchange, aluminium for delivery in June rose by 95 paise, or 0.95 per cent, to INR 111.45 per kg in business turnover of 992 lots. Similarly, the metal for delivery in July traded higher by INR 1.05, or 0.94 per cent, to INR 112.60 per kg in 49 lots. Market analysts said the rise in aluminium prices at futures trade was mostly attributed to a firming trend in metal at the London Metal Exchange and rising demand at spot markets here. Meanwhile, at the LME aluminium gained 0.4 per cent to $ 1,930.50 per tonne.
The closure of Bosnia's sole aluminium smelter, "Aluminij ", is set to affect thousands of jobs in the Balkan country and neighbouring Croatia and will lessen their chances for returning to economic growth any time soon, officials warned on Friday. Aluminij Mostar, faced with high power costs and low prices, has been racking up monthly losses this year and said on Thursday it would close on June 17.
Rain Commodities Ltd. (RCOL), the world’s second-largest producer of calcined petroleum coke used to make aluminum, will miss its own profit forecast as a slide in prices of the metal prompts smelters to scale back output. An aluminum supply glut and falling demand in China are causing many producers to shut down, hurting Rain Commodities, Chief Financial Officer T. Srinivasa Rao said in an interview. The Hyderabad, India-based company will no longer be able to meet its goal of doubling net income by the end of 2013, and instead will take two more years, he said. The light weight metal used to make aircraft and beverage cans has declined 47 percent in the past five years, making it the third-worst performer on the UBS Bloomberg CMCI index of commodities. Aluminum Corp. of China, the...
