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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The cash price of primary Indian aluminum saw a 1.4 percent drop on Sept. 19, 2012, making it the biggest mover of the day on MetalMiner’s aluminum price index. The 3-month price of aluminum weakened by 0.6 percent on the LME, settling at $2,153 per metric ton. The primary aluminum cash price saw a 0.4 percent decline on the LME to $2,152 per metric ton. Meanwhile, Chinese aluminum prices closed flat for the day. The Chinese aluminum cash price held steady; Chinese aluminum scrap saw little movement; Chinese aluminum billet saw little change in its price on Wednesday and the price of Chinese aluminum bar remained essentially flat.
Weak manufacturing flash PMI of China and the euro zone for September raised worries over slack global demand for base metals. In response, LME aluminum tumbled to a low of USD 2,100/mt at the tail of Asian session. LME aluminum was deprived of upward momentum due to short selling following the worse-than-expected US weekly jobless claims, despite its rebound in European session. Finally, LME aluminum ended the day down USD 36/mt or 1.68% to close near an intraday low of USD 2,101/mt. Latest LME aluminum inventories were up 1,825 mt to 5.08 million mt. Aluminum prices will move weakly as investors remain wary. LME aluminum should test support at USD 2,100/mt and move between USD 2,080-2,130/mt on Friday. SHFE 1212 aluminum contract is expected to open lower at RMB 15,685/mt on Friday,...
Hundreds of striking Constellium aluminum plant workers voted in favor of a new, five-year contract Wednesday, ending a nearly seven-week strike. Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin and Sens. Joe Manchin and Jay Rockefeller announced the deal late Wednesday. Workers with the United Steelworkers Local 5668 voted by secret ballot over 12 hours Wednesday. Union officials did not provide vote totals. "We hope the company is ready to go back to work to make the highest quality of aerospace aluminum made in the world and to get back to satisfying our customers," union official Randy Moore Told The Charleston Gazette (bit.ly/PBITi7). "There are people who are disappointed with the vote on both sides, but the majority has spoken and we have to get back to business as usual. "There are dissatisfied members on...
A continued run-up in the London Metal Exchange aluminum price and the Federal Reserve’s recent decision to extend quantitative easing could boost aluminum shipments from North American distributors in the coming months, market sources said. "I’m optimistic for the next few months. The metal (price) situation will play into customers’ purchasing plans. What the Fed did will loosen some money. October should be an active month," one distributor source said. "We may see some mixed numbers for the month of September, but I do see the overall trend going up," a second service center source echoed, even as he said fewer billing days could crimp overall shipment numbers for September. The second distributor agreed that the higher aluminum prices might spur buying as consumers look to secure...
LME aluminium will test a support at $2,120 per tonne, with a good chance to break it and fall more to $2,071. The correction from the Sept. 14 high of $2,199 has not completed. Based on a Fibonacci retracement analysis on the rise from $1,864 to $2,199, this correction may have depth at $2,071, the 38.2 percent level. Strategically, this target will be confirmed only when aluminium breaks a support at $2,120, the 23.6 percent level. 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.
Workers at US giant Alcoa's loss-making aluminum smelter in the Sardinian town of Portovesme on Tuesday occupied a nearby explosives factory to draw attention to 1,500 jobs at risk. "We went into the factory and asked its workers for solidarity, which we got amply from them and from the management," said a local representative from the Fiom-Cgil trade union, Franco Bardi. The Alcoa workers occupied the 'Sardinian Explosives' factory in Domusnovas for two hours before returning to work, Bardi said. Earlier on Tuesday some 200 workers from the Alcoa plant held a protest outside the smelter gates. Alcoa began on 1 September the gradual closure of the plant, which will be shuttered next year unless a buyer is found. Alcoa workers have held a series of protests to highlight their plight...
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba) has maintained its focus on achieving growth targets despite low LME 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 third quarterly meeting for the year 2012 held on Wednesday, September 19, 2012 at the Royal Golf Club, Riffa Views, Bahrain. The Board ratified its approval of the appointment of BNP Paribas (BNP) as the financial advisor for the proposed Line 6 expansion project. Approval was also given to the 2013 marketing plan, the half-yearly financial statements along with recommendation of cash distribution dividends. The Chairman of Alba's Board of Directors, Mahmood Hashim Al Kooheji, said, "Alba's commitment to the principles of Lean Management and...
Alcoa, like other metals and mining companies, caught a nice tailwind last week when the Fed announced its big new asset-buying program. But Alcoa’s recent strength may fall off in the face of an ongoing surplus in the aluminum industry, notes Jefferies analyst Peter Ward, who downgraded shares to Hold from Buy. “[F]or us to foresee upside in Alcoa shares much beyond $11, a strong bull case for aluminum is needed in our opinion,” Ward writes. He considers Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold (FCX) to be a much better way to invest in the sector. “In our view, aluminum production simply does not have the high barriers to entry that copper mining does. Yet, on our estimates, FCX shares trade at a substantially lower valuation than AA. This is true despite FCX having a much higher yield. And, in...
Eskom could suffer a loss of up to R5.5bn over the next eight years on its below-cost electricity supply agreement with aluminium giant BHP Billiton, Parliament heard yesterday. In terms of a special pricing agreement with Eskom, which is clouded in secrecy, the world’s biggest resources company by market value pays a cheaper rate for electricity than most consumers in SA. The rate is linked to the open market price of aluminium from its smelter in Richards Bay. It also emerged yesterday that the government has been a stumbling block to Eskom renegotiating the contract, which CEO Brian Dames has conceded is "undesirable". Democratic Alliance MP Pieter van Dalen claimed in the National Assembly last week that BHP Billiton was paying 8.8c-10c/kWh as the aluminium price was at a record low....
A bearish target at $2,120 per tonne remains unchanged for LME aluminium as a correction from $2,199 has not completed. The correction is labelled as a wave 4 which may travel to $2,071, the 38.2 percent Fibonacci retracement on the rise from $1,864 to $2,199. This wave 4 will consist of three waves labelled a, b, c, and the wave a and the wave b seem to have unfolded. The wave c will drive the metal down to the 23.6 percent retracement at $2,120. * 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.
Economic Times honors Anil Agarwal of Vedanta Group with the Business Leader of the Year Award for 2012. According to ET, the award seeks to honour a leader who has clearly demonstrated a strategic direction for success, and pursued a vision. It is growth in trying times that tilted the balance in Agarwal's favour when the jury selected him as the Business Leader of the Year. They applauded Agarwal's effort to clinch the $8.7-billion acquisition of oil & gas company Cairn India in December 2011; the transaction got delayed by more than a year after the announcement due to a disagreement over royalty payments. The 58-year-old chairman of the $11.4-billion, London-headquartered Vedanta Resources aims to create a diversified natural resources conglomerate, with presence in metals, oil and...
UC RUSAL, the world s largest aluminium producer, announces an increase in powder production due to the launch of unique equipment and the introduction of the new types of products. In the first half of 2012 the total volume of powder products, produced by UC RUSAL subsidiaries, has increased by 29.4% compared to first half of 2011. The growth is mainly a result of a full-scale modernization programme, started in 2011 on three units of SUAL-Powder Metallurgy in Shelekhov, Krasnoturinsk and Volgograd cities. The cutting-edge German equipment the air sizing Hosokawa Alpine system enables the company to produce less than 10-micron powders with a maximum yield value and a narrow granulometric size composition, increasing the prospective product range two-fold. Total investment into the...
On Sept. 17, 2012, the cash price of primary aluminum experienced the biggest change on MetalMiner’s aluminum price index, rising 4.6 percent on the LME to $2,176 per metric ton. The aluminum 3-month price on the LME has been on the rise for 10 days and is now at $2,175 per metric ton. The cash price of primary Indian aluminum declined 2.1 percent after two days of improvement. Chinese aluminum prices were mixed for the day. The cash price of Chinese aluminum rose 0.3 percent, and Chinese aluminum scrap held its value on Monday at above $2,000 per metric ton. The price of Chinese aluminum billet showed little movement on Monday, and the price of Chinese aluminum bar held steady above $2,200 per metric ton.
Aluminium prices softened by 0.52 per cent to Rs 115.50 per kg in futures market today due to lower global trend. At the Multi Commodity Exchange, aluminium for delivery in October traded lower by 60 paise, or 0.52 per cent, to Rs 115.50 per kg, with a business turnover of 328 lots. Similarly, the metal for delivery in September shed 55 paise, or 0.48 per cent, to Rs 115 per kg, with a business turnover of 3,628 lots. Marketmen attributed the fall in aluminium futures to weak global trend and subdued demand in the spot market. Meanwhile, aluminum slipped 1.1 per cent to USD 2,142 a tonne on the London Metal Exchange.
National Aluminium Company (Nalco) has got the approval of Odisha's High Level Clearance Authority to set up 0.5 million tonne per annum (mtpa) aluminium smelter and 1,260 MW captive power plant (CPP) at a cost of Rs 16345.89 crore. The smelter cum CPP would come up at Kepse in Sundergarh district. he new smelter facility proposed by the Navratna firm needs 2,500 acres of land. "Nalco's new smelter project needs 50 cusecs of water and they will draw water from the Hirakud reservoir. The project will generate direct employment for 4,000 people”, said state chief secretary B K Patnaik. A senior Nalco official said, “There is no official communication yet from the state government regarding the approval of our new smelter project. The company will be applying to the Coal ministry for a coal...
Market focus has shifted to the global economy. Spiraling borrowing costs of Spain and Greece’s possible exit of the euro zone have rekindled apprehension over the European debt crisis. In this context, the euro dripped, pushing the US dollar index above 79. Trading volumes of LME aluminum were less than 500 lots and total positions decreased by as much as 29,000 lots as longs took profits at highs. LME aluminum dipped to a low of USD 2,141/mt in Asian session, but found support at the 5-day moving average. LME aluminum narrowed some losses in European session and briefly touched a high of USD 2,176.5/mt at the tail of trading. However, LME aluminum failed to hold gains due to selling pressure before finally closing at USD 2,150/mt, down USD 7/mt or 0.32%. Latest LME aluminum inventories...
Aluminum buyers in Japan, Asia’s biggest importer, agreed to pay record premiums over the benchmark prices in London for a second straight quarter after suppliers deepened output cuts, said three industry executives. Premiums for the three months starting October were set at $253 to $255 a metric ton over the London Metal Exchange’s cash price, compared with $200 to $210 a ton this quarter, according to the executives involved in the negotiations. They declined to be identified because the fee hasn’t been publicly announced. The increase in premiums, which include freight and insurance costs, indicates declining supplies, they said.
On Sept. 14, 2012, the day’s biggest mover on MetalMiner’s aluminum price index was the cash price of primary Indian aluminum, which saw a 3.2 percent increase. The primary aluminum cash price on the LME has been on the rise for 11 days and is now at $2,082 per metric ton. The 3-month price of aluminum on the LME has been on the rise for 8 days and is now at $2,085 per metric ton. Meanwhile, Chinese aluminum closed mixed last Friday. The cash price of Chinese aluminum rose by 0.7 percent last Friday after remaining flat for two days. After two flat days, the price of Chinese aluminum billet inched up 0.6 percent. Chinese aluminum scrap stayed flat at above $2,000 per metric ton. The price of Chinese aluminum bar held steady above $2,200 per metric ton.
