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 arrival of investment banks in the aluminium market has triggered a shake-up in the $100bn industry that is forcing producers from Alcoa to Rusal and consumers such as BMW and Coca-Cola to change the way they do business. The increasingly dominant role of banks including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank – as well as traders such as Glencore – has prompted a surge to record levels in the premium consumers pay for metal over the benchmark price set at the London Metal Exchange. Aluminium is the second most widely-used metal after steel, found in everything from aircraft to fizzy drinks cans. For years, the market has been a low-profile business handled by specialist merchants and producers, but in recent years investment banks have become more involved. The banks can lock in a...
Hindalco Industries Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla on Tuesday told shareholders at the company’s AGM that the power cost pressure is hitting aluminum smelters hard, though aluminium business in the country has recorded highest production. He also noted that China continues to be a major demand driver for the company and copper consumption in Asia, except China, has slowed down. While highlighting challenges confronting the nation, the aluminium and copper businesses and the company’s scorecard in the context of these factors, Birla said that domestic affairs have been affecting the economy and several producers have curtailed production in recent months. He also said that treatment refined charges in 2011 is better than 2010. Birla said the company’s copper business in India attained...
South Korea has bought a combined 6,000 tonnes of aluminium for arrivals by Nov. 25 via tenders on Wednesday, the state-run Public Procurement Service said on its website (www.g2b.go.kr). Details of the purchases are as follows: TONNE SUPPLIER PREMIUM(CIF/T) ORIGIN 1,000 Glencore International AG $245 Western 2,000 LG International Corp $262 Western 1,000 LG International Corp $230 Non-Western 2,000 Glencore International AG $227.5 Non-Western The metals were bought at the above premiums over LME prices, the government procurement agency said.
Aluminium stocks held at three major Japanese ports stood at 261,000 tonnes at the end of August, up 11 percent from 235,100 tonnes a month earlier, trading house Marubeni Corp said on Tuesday. The stocks at the end of August were up 8.2 percent from 241,200 tonnes in the same month in 2011. Marubeni collects data from the key ports of Yokohama, Nagoya and Osaka. Japan, which has to import nearly all the metal it needs, consumes about 2 million tonnes of aluminium annually, or 5 percent of global demand. The metal is widely used in products ranging from housing materials, planes and electronics to the food sector.
Germany’s Constitutional Court overnight ratified the bailout fund by the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) under condition that German liability in the rescue fund must be limited to 190 billion euros and that both chambers have the right to be consulted on the ESM's activities. In response, the euro was lifted and LME aluminum surged to a high of USD 2,099/mt during early European session, the highest since May 3. However, as market focus shifted to the results of the Fed interest rate meeting, LME aluminum trimmed gains due to selling at highs. Finally, LME aluminum ended the day up USD 7/mt or 0.34% to close at USD 2,080/mt, extending gains for a seventh straight trading day. Latest LME aluminum inventories were down 8,500 mt to 4,854,325 mt. Aluminum prices will be trapped within a...
On Sept. 10, 2012, the cash price of primary Indian aluminum experienced the biggest change, rising 1.9 percent. On the LME, the primary aluminum cash price rose 1.3 percent to $1,988 per metric ton. After a 1 percent increase, the 3-month price of aluminum finished the day on the LME at $1,994 per metric ton. Chinese aluminum closed mixed on Monday. The price of Chinese aluminum billet finished the market day up 0.6 percent per metric ton. The cash price of Chinese aluminum inched up 0.6 percent as well. The price of Chinese aluminum scrap saw essentially no change for the fifth day in a row, remaining around just north of $2,000 per metric ton. The price of Chinese aluminum bar continues hovering above $2,200 per metric ton for the fifth day in a row.
A Norwegian CO2 compensation scheme proposed on Tuesday could allow Norsk Hydro and Rio Tinto to negotiate a new long-term power contract for their Soeral aluminium plan in Norway, Hydro said. The government announce the scheme for the period to end-2020 and said it would apply to aluminium, ferroalloys, chemical products and paper. Rio Tinto owns 50 percent of the venture with has a 165,000 per year capacity while Hydro holds 49.9 percent. Soeral's current power contract runs out at the end 2012.
In an interview with ET Now, Ansuman Das, CMD & Director (Commercial), NALCO, talks about the impact of the global decline in aluminium prices on NALCO. Edited excerpts from the ET interview: ET Now: How will the global decline in aluminium prices impact NALCO? You have in fact raised prices last week for aluminium output. Ansuman Das: Yes, the aluminium prices really went down, but then started looking up fortunately. The prices breached the 1,900-mark in the last two days, and we also had a price correction two days ago when we increased the domestic sales price by about Rs 4,500 a tonne. I expect this rally to continue for some time. In fact, aluminium prices are predicted to rise to around 2,100 in the near future. However, it is a question of production discipline. At a level of 1900...
Alba is one of the key sponsors of the 27th International Aluminium Conference which is being held in Moscow from today until Friday. The sponsorship presents a tangible demonstration of the company's support for global initiatives that help in boosting closer interactions between members of the aluminium industry, and in forging a better understanding of trends and developments facing the industry worldwide. The conference, organised by Metal Bulletin Events, is expected to attract more than 500 delegates comprising diverse sectors of the aluminium industry. Alba will be represented by chief executive Laurent Schmitt, chief financial and supply officer Tim Murray, chief marketing officer Jean Baptiste Lucas as well as senior officials. "As a company with a 40-year legacy in pioneering...
MMMM 2012 (Minerals, Metals, Metallurgy and Materials) is a leading Biennial event that is all set to enter its ninth edition at New Delhi, Pragati Maidan from 27th September to 30th September, 2012. It is one of the most significant events in the Indian minerals, metals and material sector and has acquired prominent place in the industry’s list of important industrial trade fairs. Alcircle.com, a global news, information, data and business portal for the aluminium industry ecosystem, is actively participating in MMMM 2012 as media partner. The event will serve as an ideal B2B platform for entrepreneurs, CEO’s, consultants, senior government officials, decision makers and trade delegations to congregate, brainstorm, showcase and forge meaningful business partnerships. This prestigious...
Japan's aluminum rolling mill Sumitomo Light Metal confirmed Tuesday that it will continue to produce copper tubes after its merger with the country's largest rolling mill Furukawa Sky in October 2013. Its subsidiary Sumikei Copper Tube's product portfolio will complement the strategy of Furukawa-SLM, Sumitomo Light Metal spokesman Kozo Yamasaki said. Sumikei Copper Tube produces 4,000 mt/month of copper alloy tube products at the Yokokawa plant in Aichi prefecture. Around 70% of its monthly tube shipments are used for air conditioners. "Sumitomo Light Metal was supplying aluminum sheets to air-conditioner manufacturers, and also selling them in a combination set with copper tubes to end-users," Yamasaki said. Sumikei Copper Tube will maintain plants in Malaysia and China that do the...
China's production of most base metals rose in August, reversing declines in the previous month, with primary aluminium hitting an all-time monthly high, official data showed on Tuesday, as smelters expect demand to improve in the next 3 or 4 months. Metal demand in China, the world's top consumer and producer of copper, aluminium, lead, zinc, nickel and tin, has fallen this year after economic activity slowed in global markets. Chinese smelters are hoping demand will rise in the fourth quarter, usually the peak consuming season, and will benefit from Beijing's increasing investment in infrastructure to boost an economy growing at its slowest pace in three years. Production of refined copper rose 5.8 percent from the previous month to 511,000 tonnes in August, the second-highest level...
China's move to shift aluminum production to energy-rich western areas of the country won't solve the industry's problems with high costs and pollution, Alcoa Inc. (AA) Chief Executive Officer Klaus Kleinfeld told the state-run China Daily newspaper in an interview published Tuesday. The Chinese government has tried to cull excess capacity in an industry it views as environmentally problematic and far down the value chain. Describing China's aluminum output as "expensive and not particularly clean," Mr. Kleinfeld said 80%-87% of the country's output is in the top half of the global cost curve and more than 90% of power supplying its refineries and smelters comes from coal. "As a result, one-third of China's production capacity is unprofitable," he said. The shift to the coal-rich west...
Proposing a fair market valuation for public sector firms Hindustan Zinc Limited and Bharat Aluminium Limited, metals-major Vedanta has written to the government seeking higher valuations for both the companies, reports CNBC TV18's Anshu Sharma. Vedanta proposed fair valuation by independent valuers using discounted cash flow or on the basis of Sebi regulations of 2011. Vedanta had raised its offer to 25 percent, to Rs 15,000-16,000 crore to buy out government’s stake in both the companies. The company, in its proposal, which was sent to the Ministry of Mines, committed to accept higher of the valuations and urged the Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs (CCEA) to deliberate the methodology it has proposed. Vedanta also offered to drop pending litigation on HZL and Balco and has agreed...
The Indian economy has arrived at a point where a non-ferrous metal such as aluminium will come in for increasingly significant application in many areas, besides electrical and electronics, which now has a preponderant share of 48 per cent of this country’s total use of the white metal against world average of 11 per cent. No wonder, the chairman of National Aluminium Co (Nalco), Ansuman Das, believes this metal’s “growth story here has begun to unfold and as we go forward, the per capita consumption of aluminium, now at 1.3 kg, can only rise. Our neighbour, China, has an aluminium per capita use of 14 kg”. But then in every metal, China is miles ahead of India. The issue is not that India’s aluminium production of 1.7 million tonnes (mt) is way behind China’s 20 mt. What inspires...
China’s imports were down as much as 2.6% YoY in August and above-scale industrial added value dropped 0.3 percentage points, highlighting aggravated downward risks of the Chinese economy and raising expectations for policy easing by the People’s Bank of China. Downbeat US nonfarm payrolls in August also pushed hopes for QE3 by the Fed in its interest rate meeting this Wednesday. The rebound of the US dollar index was curbed as a result, helping commodities to extend gains. LME aluminum trended up after a high open overnight and touched a high of USD 2,065/mt, the highest since May 21, pointing to gains for seven consecutive trading days. Positions increased by 4,155 lots to 729,107 lots. Finally, LME aluminum ended the day up USD 44.5/mt or 2.20% to close at USD 2,064/mt. Latest LME...
The Italian government cannot give assurances that it will protect jobs at Alcoa Inc's loss-making aluminium plant in Sardinia, Welfare Minister Elsa Fornero said on Thursday. Speaking at the margins of a conference in Brussels, Fornero said the government was "close to the workers" who risked losing their jobs if the plant is shut down but she added: "it would be mistaken to say that we will guarantee jobs." Around 1,500 jobs are at risk at the plant, located in an area with one of the highest unemployment rates in Italy. Discussions are underway to try to find a buyer but ministers have said prospects of a successful deal are remote.
Aluminium maker Alcoa Inc. (AA.N) said on Friday it had received no new expressions of interest for its Sardinian smelter, denying Italian government claims that two different groups were looking at saving the plant from closure. "Since August 1 we have not received any new and concrete expressions of interest by potential buyers," Alcoa said in a written statement. Italy's industry ministry said on August 31 that Swiss-based commodities and mining group Glencore (GLEN.L) was mulling taking over the smelter, and this week a government official said a U.S. multinational had sent a letter of interest. Prime Minister Mario Monti's government is under intense pressure from labour unions to save the unprofitable factory. The Alcoa factory on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia employs some...
