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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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...
In the future aluminum will be widely used in building, means of transport, consumption product and packing material. Especially the demand in China and India will increase largely while a lot of developed countries adopted lightweight aluminum to replace high density material since the improved awareness of environmental protection which will boost aluminum consumption further. On this occasion, China will expand alumina and primary aluminum production capacity continually. Thus, some professional persons expected that the production capacity and amount of consumption for primary aluminum was over 19,000 thousand tons in last year which was 50% higher than 4 years ago. But according to CNIA aluminum growth rate was only 8% in last year, about half of alumina capacity still dependence on...
Alcoa brought some much-needed good news to the market when it reported a surprise profit in the first quarter as productivity improved while higher aluminum prices and better product mix translated into solid earnings. Both revenues and profits were up on a sequential basis while earnings declined on a year-over-year basis. Lower realized alumina prices and higher input costs dented earnings to some extent. The general expectation was that the company would record its second consecutive quarterly loss. Alcoa is a world leader in the production and management of primary aluminum, fabricated aluminum and alumina, and competes globally with other companies like ArcelorMittal and US Steel. Alcoa’s results are closely eyed as it usually is the first Dow company to post earnings. We maintain...
Alcoa Inc.’s March quarter results provide clues to the performance of Indian aluminium firms in the quarter and the outlook in the forthcoming quarters. The company benefited from better aluminium realizations, which were up by 2.5% sequentially, but alumina’s realizations were down 8.5%. Alumina is an intermediate product that is processed further to get aluminium. Higher input costs continue to dog Alcoa’s performance, but it wrung out sizeable productivity gains, allowing it to post a better-than-expected profit of $94 million (around Rs. 483 crore today) from continuing operations. It had posted a loss of $193 million in the previous quarter. Since domestic firms’ product pricing is linked to international prices, companies such as Hindalco Industries Ltd, National Aluminium Co. Ltd...
Reuters reported that demand for US and Canadian aluminum products, measured as shipments from domestic producers plus imports rose by 6.0 percent in January over the year ago period and jumped 14.8% over February. According to the Aluminum Association's Aluminum Situation report, total demand increased to an estimated 1.816 billion lbs in January from 1.714 billion in January 2011 and was up from 1.583 billion lbs shipped in March.
China's production of refined copper and primary aluminium in March rose to the second-highest recorded level as producers expected stronger demand in March to May and new capacity increased operation rates. China is the world's top producer and consumer of most base metals. "Expectations of stronger demand in the peak consumption period has led to higher copper and aluminium production," said Fu Bin, analyst at Jinrui Futures, a subsidiary of top copper producer Jiangxi Copper Co Ltd . Production of refined copper in March was up 16.7 percent from a month earlier to 510,000 tonnes, and rose 8.5 percent from a year earlier to the highest level since a record 518,000 tonnes in August 2011, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics on Friday. In the first quarter, refined...
According to China Custom that the import volume of unwrought aluminum and aluminum products in March was 120,494 tons which was lower than the former month. From January to March imported 175,157 tons of unwrought aluminum that increased 10.6% when compared with the same period of last year. In March imported aluminum scrap 220 thousand tons, lower than the former month. Moreover, China exported 67,983 tons of unwrought aluminum in March which was higher than last month. In March imported alumina 440 thousand tons up 55.3% compared with last year. The total import volume of alumina was 1,160 thousand tons, the same period in last year this figure was 700 thousand tons, increased 65.8%.
The European aluminum market saw premiums remaining firm last week, with lower prices on the London Metal Exchange, physical tightness and the start of the second quarter bringing consumers back into the market. “The lower LME price is attracting consumer buying,” said a European trader. “There is more back-to-back business.” A producer agreed and said he had seen an increase in the number of inquiries over the past week and that the European market was definitely tighter on the supply side. “Volumes are up and there are more inquiries. Customers need the material and we are already seeing tightness,” he said. The producer said there is not a lot of material being imported into Europe and that, with production cutbacks at some European smelters, there was the feeling that availability of...
Commodity prices have fluctuated substantially over the past few years. The controversial question is, are financial speculators to blame? In general, prices are determined by underlying forces of physical supply and demand. But with regard to at least one commodity -- aluminum -- and at least for brief periods of time, new research suggests that financial flows can indeed influence prices significantly. Over the past decade, commodity prices have risen by an average of 9 percent a year, according to the composite index assembled by the Commodity Research Bureau. Aluminum prices, which have been through some dramatic ups and downs, have gained a bit less rapidly over that time. The average closing price for aluminum on the London Metal Exchange went from less than $1,500 per metric ton in...
CME Group Inc said on Wednesday it plans to launch an aluminum swap futures contract based on the Midwest physical premium, in a move to take advantage of a burgeoning over-the-counter market and compete with the London Metal Exchange's own swap products. The swaps, which are designed for hedging in the physical market, are likely to capture a large OTC market in North America and could see the exchange take on the LME, which launched its own aluminum swaps in January. Major North American aluminum consumers and traders already use OTC contracts based on an average monthly Midwest premium to hedge their purchases through their broker. By clearing the business, they reduce their exposure to counterparty risk. While there is not thought to be a link between MF Global's demise and the...
Keynote presentation looking at "the key strategic threats for aluminium producers" with Saeed Fadhel Al Mazrooei, President and CEO, EMAL, Jacynthe Côté, CEO, Rio Tinto Alcan, Abdulla J.M. Kalban, President and CEO, DUBAL, Phil Martens, President and CEO, Novelis Inc, Chris Ayers, EVP and President of Global Primary Products, Alcoa CRU's 17th World Aluminium Conference will take place from 30 April - 2 May 2012 during an event filled week for the aluminium industry in Abu Dhabi, which includes the Gulf Aluminium Dinner and other important industry meetings. With so many top executives in the region, and an expected audience of over 300, the conference promises to be the definitive aluminium conference of the year. The programme will decipher the avalanche of industry news and focus on...
Alcoa, the largest US aluminium producer, reported an unexpected first-quarter profit after orders rose and it closed higher-cost smelting capacity. The shares advanced in German trading. Net income fell to $94 million (Dh345.2 million), or nine cents a share, from $308 million, or 27 cents, a year earlier, New York-based Alcoa said on Tuesday in a statement. Profit, excluding restructuring costs and other items, was ten cents a share, compared with the average estimate for a four cent loss from 19 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Sales rose 0.8 per cent to $6.01 billion, beating the $5.77 billion average of 12 estimates. The earnings were "driven by higher-than-expected profitability from every operating segment," Brian Yu, an analyst at Citigroup in San Francisco who estimated a six cent...
China’s aluminum demand is expected to grow at 8 to 10 percent annually on average for the next five years, supported by use in beverage cans and automotive sheets, according to Novelis Inc., the world’s largest user. The company is “very bullish” on a range of aluminum usage, Philip Martens, chief executive officer, said in an interview today in Changzhou city, Jiangsu province. Novelis said it will invest $100 million to build its first automotive sheet manufacturing plant in China in the city with an annual capacity of 120,000 metric tons. The nation, which accounts for about 40 percent of global consumption, is likely to see a slowdown in growth. China’s gross domestic product may have gained 8.4 percent in the first quarter from a year ago, according to the median estimate of 38...
East China Aluminum: Futures Fail to Rise, Spot Prices Stabilize with Light Trading SHANGHAI, Apr. 13 (SMM) – Traded prices of spot aluminum in Shanghai were between RMB 15,960-15,990/mt on Friday, with discounts of RMB 10/mt to premiums of RMB 20/mt over the SHFE current-month aluminum price. Low-iron aluminum was traded between RMB 16,060-16,090/mt in Shanghai. Traded prices of spot aluminum in Wuxi were between RMB 15,980-16,000/mt. The SHFE current-month aluminum price opened higher at RMB 16,000/mt and moved between RMB 15,965-16,000/mt. Sellers were not willing to move goods at low prices, leaving main transactions made at RMB 15,970/mt. As China’s 1Q GDP growth was reported worse than expected, coupled with the upcoming delivery for SHFE aluminum contract, traders in spot markets...
The successful bond auction by Italy and Fed’s consideration of QE3 as disclosed by New York Fed President had sent LME aluminum above the 10-day moving average to USD 2,126/mt on Thursday. Sell-off at higher prices had eroded most of these gains, however, with the light metal settling up only USD 8/mt or 0.38% at USD 2,106/mt and recording the weakest performance among base metals. Today’s market focus will be whether the drop in Chinese GDP growth will exceed expectations. LME aluminum is expected test support at USD 2,100/mt and move between USD 2,095-2,140/mt during today’s trading. The most active SHFE aluminum contract for July delivery is expected to hover between RMB 16,150-16,230/mt. Whether it can consolidate above the RMB 16,200/mt mark has yet to be determined by the GDP data....
Vimetco NV (LSE: VICO), the global producer of primary and processed aluminium products, today announces that its Chinese unit, Henan Zhongfu Industry Co., Ltd., has decreased its energy consumption to the lowest level worldwide, following a commercial test of new technology. "We will be able to significantly reduce the power consumption of the aluminium electrolysis process under low temperatures and low voltage using this advanced technology", explained Gheorghe Dobra, CEO of Vimetco. "This is an extremely important achievement for our R&D team in China that will allow us to increase the efficiency of our aluminium smelters. This also secures our role as a leading innovation-oriented company, which was a pioneer in using 400 kA new generation effective electrolyzers on an industrial...
Demand for aluminum in China is growing heavily and the country isn't likely to slow down production, Alcoa Inc.'s (AA) chief executive told Fox Business Network on Wednesday. Klaus Kleinfeld said that despite having to import most of its bauxite and the high cost of energy to produce aluminum, China will continue ramping up production to meet demand. World aluminum demand growth, he said, is at 7%. Increased production of Chinese aluminum isn't a threat to the global market because China isn't going to export the lightweight metal, Kleinfeld told Fox Business. He also said the country is likely to restructure its heavy energy industry, which aluminum is part of.
Aluminum stocks at major Japanese ports at the end of March had declined 7.3% from a month earlier, a trader at a major Japanese house said Wednesday. Aluminum stocks totaled 245,100 metric tons, with 126,100 tons in Yokohama, 104,000 tons in Nagoya and 15,000 tons in Osaka. End-February stocks totaled 264,500 tons. Stocks rose 21.8% from a year earlier, when inventories totaled 201,200 tons. Japanese demand for aluminum has strengthened slightly since the start of the year due to a modest pickup in the construction sector. The supply of aluminum in Asia outside China has tightened since the beginning of January due to the movement of large volumes into longterm financing deals, which can keep aluminum off the market for years at a time. The tighter supply has boosted premiums in Asia,...
