The London Metal Exchange (LME) aluminium price chart reported declines on the November 10 trading session after a temporary surge at the November 9 close. Both near-term and longer-dated contracts posted over 1 per cent dip over the previous session. The LME aluminium cash bid as well as offer prices contracted 0.32 per cent day-on-day on November 10. The bid shifted from USD 3,145 per tonne to USD 3,135 per tonne. The offer price dipped from USD 3,147 per tonne to USD 3,137 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 1.11 per cent decline from USD 3,059 per tonne on November 9 to USD 3,025 per tonne on...
Futures: SHFE aluminium closed at RMB 23,170 per tonne in the daytime session (down 0.22 per cent), moving sideways. Prices barely held above the MA5 (23,111) but were capped by the MA10 (23,199) and MA30 (23,352), with the bearish alignment of moving averages unchanged. The MACD formed a golden cross below the zero axis (DIF -132.31, DEA -150.30), with the red histogram expanding to 35.98, but trading volume shrank sharply to 43,600 lots, and the volume-price divergence limited the rebound height. The core trading range for SHFE aluminium is suggested at 22,900-23,400. LME aluminium closed at USD 3,082 per tonne (up 0.31 per cent). Prices held above the MA5 (3,063.8), MA10 (3,072.5), and MA30 (3,068.4), but remained capped by the MA60 (3,166.4), in a weak recovery phase within the...
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Rio Tinto Group (RIO) may spin off its Pacific Aluminium unit and use debt secured with the assets to pay shareholders a special dividend, the Independent on Sunday said, citing a person close to the company it didn’t identify. The payment may be for as much as A$1 billion ($1.04 billion), with the creation of a separate aluminum company traded in Australia scheduled for the end of the third quarter, the newspaper reported. A spokeswoman for Rio said it’s not in a hurry to divest the Pacific Aluminium assets and may wait until the economic climate improves, the Independent said.
National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (NSCSA) reported a strong first-quarter profit after a bad 2011, and with recent contracts, the expansion of the company's aluminium transport business looks promising. NSCSA, which leases out oil tankers, reported to the Saudi stock exchange that its profit for all of last year fell 30.6 per cent to 287.8 million riyals. However, the company has staged a rebound this year, with first-quarter profit 41 per cent higher than in the previous three months. First-quarter profit surged to 160.1m riyals from 59.7m for the same period last year, a year-on-year increase of 168 per cent. "It is a quite spectacular rebound in earnings," said Redwan Ahmed, an equity research analyst at EFG-Hermes. "I didn't think there would be such a strong recovery." Saleh...
The US dollar index stayed near 80 as better-than-expected retail sales in the US continue to support the reserve currency while Spanish debt causes worries towards the euro zone debt crisis to stay. LME aluminum moved within a narrow band between USD 2,062.5-2,082.5/mt and settled up USD 9/mt or 0.43% at USD 2,079/mt. Transactions dropped 1,554 lots to 10,147 lots while positions climbed 10,603 lots to 731,915 lots. LME aluminum stocks dropped 7,425 mt to 5,045,275 mt. The US dollar may strengthen further in the near term as Spain continues to stir worries towards debt stability in Europe. SMM expects LME aluminum to test the 10-day moving average and move between USD 2,050-2,100/mt during today’s trading. The most active SHFE aluminum contract for July delivery is expected to test...
Rio Tinto looks set to earn itself EUR 650 million payday by loading debt onto its Antipodean aluminium smelters business. The FTSE 100 miner has been reviewing the spin off of the assets which are run under the Pacific Aluminium banner since October. Rio's aluminium operations have hurt the miner's finances in recent years. Rio had hoped to raise money through selling shares in the subsidiary through a flotation but it is thought that advisers Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley have cooled on that idea. Though economic conditions make a separate listing difficult, Rio Tinto is warming to a plan that would see a demerger of the business. This would result in a separate company quoted in Australia with possibly a secondary listing in London that would be owned by Rio's existing shareholders....
Q1 2012 production up to 220,738 metric tonnes (mt) vs. 216,792 metric tonnes (mt) in Q1 2011 Sales for the quarter were almost stable vs. Q1 2011 at 214,891 metric tonnes Aluminium Bahrain ( Alba ) continues to maintain the positive momentum set in 2011 -- its production figures grew 2% on a comparable basis for the first quarter of 2012 versus 216,792 mt in Q1 2011 -- the 5th straight quarter of positive growth. Despite the European slowdown, the company was able to sustain its sales figure at 214,891 mt for the first quarter of 2012. In addition, Value-Added sales recovered at 63% in Q1 2012 from 57% in the last quarter of 2011 – reflecting the recovery of the European and Asian markets after the drop in year-end 2011. Commenting on this milestone, Alba’s Chief Executive, Laurent...
Vedanta required a swift and hassle-free provision of IT services in the organization. Along with this, the company was looking at high availability of IT resources and services, better control and monitoring of infrastructure cost and scalability and resiliency to business requirements. Thus, the company deployed Vedanta Private Cloud Computing Environment (VPCCE). This environment has enabled the company to host applications, infrastructure and services over the private cloud, which caters to around five subsidiaries (Sterlite Energy, Talwandi Saboo Power, Vedanta Alumina, Allied Port Services and Vedanta Aluminum), corporate and regional offices, depots and manufacturing plants across the country. Vedanta is also providing private cloud services to third-party companies like Sterlite...
Rising orders to draw aluminum from warehouses and higher premiums for the lightweight metal signal a tightening market even as London Metal Exchange stockpiles remain near February’s record high. Thirty-three percent of aluminum inventories monitored by the LME are awaiting delivery from warehouses, daily exchange figures show. The orders rose to a record 33.5 percent of stocks on March 9. Premiums are up 27 percent this year in Europe (MBALFMEP) and 19 percent in the U.S. (MBALAL01) LME inventories come to 5.05 million metric tons, less than 2 percent below the record. Almost 75 percent of LME aluminum stocks are locked into so-called financing transactions and unavailable to consumers, according to Deutsche Bank AG. Shipping backlogs in LME warehouses have left consumers struggling for...
Emirates Aluminium (EMAL) has marked a major milestone in the construction of its $4.6bn Phase II smelter expansion at Taweelah, pouring the concrete for the first potroom in what will be the world’s longest potline when complete. The pouring, which was carried out by contractors Al Futtaim Carillion and SNC Lavalin in the presence of EMAL’s president and CEO, Saeed Fadhel Al Mazrooei, sets Phase II on track to its 2014 completion date. “This important milestone has been completed on schedule and on budget, and demonstrates the hard work and strong capabilities of EMAL and its partners in executing a major expansion with all its attendant challenges,” said Yousuf Bastaki, EMAL’s vice president of projects.
Anand Rathi Securities has chosen NALCO as value pick. It has recommended `Buy` on NALCO for target price of Rs 90 (Time horizon: 24 months). Prices to stabilize from Q4 2012 Aluminium prices have tumbled almost 30% in a year on worries about the strength of the global economy and thus potential industrial demand, particularly as the European sovereign-debt crisis continues. Aluminium prices have corrected sharply to below USD 2,109 a ton from a high of USD 2,807 in Q1 2011. Structural issues such as over-capacity and high inventories continue to be an overhang on aluminium prices. Few economic incentives to purchase aluminium have led to subdued aluminium imports from China as consumers focused on de-stocking. In addition, excess aluminium production over demand since September 2011 has...
Nalco Foundation, the CSR arm of Navaratna PSU National Aluminium Company Limited, will sponsor an Industrial Training Institute (ITI) to be set up at Marichamal in tribal-dominated Damanjodi in Odisha's Koraput district, at an estimated cost of Rs 4.08 crore. Nalco Foundation chairman B L Bagra handed over an advance cheque of Rs 2 crore for initial mobilisation to Odisha Chief Secretary B K Patnaik here, company sources said today.
LME aluminum closed down USD 36/mt or 1.71% at USD 2,070/mt last Friday as weaker-than-expected Chinese GDP data and rebounding Spanish debt yields strengthened risk aversion and helped the US dollar index return above the 80 mark. The light metal hit a low of USD 2,061/mt and recovered a little bit with some bargain-hunting. With buying support at low-end prices, SMM expects LME aluminum to test resistance at USD 2,100/mt and move between USD 2,050-2,095/mt during today’s trading. The most active SHFE aluminum contract for July delivery is expected to gap lower and hover between RMB 16,050-16,120/mt. Spot aluminum is expected to trade at premiums of RMB 0-30/mt over the current-month SHFE aluminum price this last trading day before delivery of the later. Some spot buyers will enter the...
The News reported that aluminum giant Alcoa swung into profit in the Q1 as it slashed production to cope with a softer global economy and high commodity prices. After the stock market closed, Alcoa the first member of the blue chip Dow Jones Industrial Average to report earnings this year, reported net income of USD 94 million following USD 191 million loss in the Q4 of 2011. Excluding special items, Alcoa earned 10 cents per share surprising analysts who on average estimated a loss of four cents. Sales also beat forecasts rising to USD 6.01 billion in the first 3 months of the year slightly more than in the prior and year ago quarters. Mr Jon Ogg an analyst said that “Alcoa Inc has managed to pull a rabbit out of its hat. While an improvement the Q1 profit was sharply below the year ago...
Can-Eng Furnaces International Limited has added a second plant facility for the manufacture and assembly of industrial furnaces. The new site, located in Port Colborne, Ontario, Canada is close to its main engineering and production shops. The need for additional floor space has been necessitated by strong demand for industrial furnaces in all market segments (aluminium foundry, steel, automotive, and aftermarket). Can-Eng Furnaces is a designer and manufacturer of thermal processing equipment for ferrous and non-ferrous metals.
SMM sources report that some aluminum smelters have been suffering losses due to weak aluminum prices, and aluminum smelters in Henan Province have cut production by over 400,000 mt since China raised the price of electricity for non-residential use in 2011. Although many aluminum smelters have suffered losses since 4Q 2012, few smelters cut or suspended production since production stoppages are costly for aluminum smelters. Industry insiders even said smelters will maintain production despite losses. Aluminum smelters in Henan have cut production by over 400,000 mt since the electricity price hike on December 1, 2011, and more production cuts are still in progress. SMM sources report that the 400,000 mt production cuts were seen at many smelters. Some aluminum smelters stockpiled goods...
According to a recent SMM survey, China’s spot aluminum inventories have fallen for three consecutive weeks (excluding the Qingming Festival). As of April 12, total stocks of aluminum ingot in Shanghai, Wuxi, Hangzhou, and Nanhai were 861,000 mt, down 11,000 mt from a week earlier and down 34,000 mt from a high of 895,000 mt last seen in mid-March. Aluminum ingot inventories were down last week, with inventories in Nanhai falling by 16,000 mt. Some domestic aluminum producers and cargo-holders were unwilling to ship goods to warehouses given current high costs, causing regional aluminum inventories to fall. Meanwhile, improving downstream demand also helped reduce aluminum inventories. Some aluminum producers in Central China extended their internal industrial chain by improving their own...
Japanese traders are seeking to source ADC12 as well as 226 aluminum alloy stored in London Metal Exchange warehouses, as LME aluminum alloy prices have fallen below physical spot prices, market sources said Friday. One Tokyo trader said European sellers had approached his company offering physical cargoes of ADC12 aluminum as well as ADC12 from LME warehouses. "Sentiment is bad there. They don't think German car sales will support the market any more," he said. A Japanese diecaster source added that his company was interested in European material despite the fact that "the sizes are different. But we need to be flexible, need to learn to use various types." Japanese diecasters prefer 5 kg ingots, rather than European ingots that are 8 kg or larger. The LME aluminum alloy settled at...
Steel anode stubs are routinely replaced in all prebake aluminium smelters. With increasing automation, smelters have looked for ways to replace environmentally unfriendly gas cutting, at the same time eliminating the HES concerns of noise and hot metal. At some rodding plants, rods are unhooked from the overhead conveyor and stubs are cut using mechanical hacksaws or circular saws, a lengthy process. For more than ten years VHE of Iceland has supplied an efficient customised band saw, offering energy savings, a low noise profile, clean and precise cut surfaces, and easy and inexpensive blade replacement. The design is such that the rod remains hanging in the overhead conveyor whilst stubs are cut horizontally. The VHE stub saw is suitable for all types of yokes and spiders, including...
State-owned Nalco is looking to set up a new aluminium smelting facility of 5 lakh tonnes and 1,250 MW captive power plant in Odisha's Sundargarh district at an investment of Rs 18,000 crore, a top company official said. "An independent consultant has confirmed that there is no problem of water in Sundargarh district. Their report came a month back. Now, we are hopeful of getting state government's approval for the project," National Aluminium Company Ltd (Nalco) Chairman B L Bagra told PTI. He added the proposed plant will require Rs 18,000 crore investment and would be executed in phases. The Odisha-based company, which currently has an alumina refinery capacity of 2.1 MTPA and an aluminium smelter of 4.6 MTPA, has been looking to set up another smelter in the state for last three...
