Century Aluminum’s proposed USD 4 billion primary aluminum smelter in Inola, Oklahoma, is “moving forward on all fronts” as the company prepares for construction, despite local opposition and legal challenges, CEO Jesse Gary said during the company’s third-quarter earnings call. Developed jointly by Century Aluminum and Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), the project is designed to produce 750,000 tonnes of primary aluminum annually, potentially doubling U.S. primary aluminum production. The facility is expected to create thousands of direct and indirect jobs and add USD 1.5 billion to Oklahoma’s gross domestic product, according to company estimates. The partners had targeted construction to begin by the end of 2026. However, local restrictions and permitting challenges have affected the...
LME aluminium stocks declined by more than half during the first nine months of 2026, falling by 267,875 tonnes from 509,250 tonnes on January 2 to 241,375 tonnes on September 30 (52.6 per cent). The decline continued throughout the period, with average warehouse inventories falling each month. Compared with the same period in 2025, monthly average stocks were lower across all nine months, with the gap widening in the third quarter. Q1 LME aluminium stocks fall 18.2 per cent LME aluminium inventories continued to decline during Q1 2026. Month-end stocks fell from 495,725 tonnes in January to 465,550 tonnes in February, before dropping further to 416,775 tonnes in March. Monthly average inventories stood at 498,670 tonnes in January, 481,801 tonnes in February and 440,710 tonnes in March....
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United Co. Rusal (486), the world’s largest aluminum producer, said its smelters can turn a profit should prices fall to $1,900 a metric ton, while as much as 45 percent of Chinese capacity may already be running at a loss. “Our smelters can work with $1,900 a ton,” Vladislav Soloviev, first deputy chief executive officer, said in an interview, published on Moscow-based Rusal’s Facebook page. “It’s difficult, but it can work. If it goes lower, well then we may see cutbacks.” Some of Rusal’s smelters are viable with an aluminum price as low as $1,400, he said. Aluminum traded at $2,193 a ton on the London Metals Exchange today. The metal has advanced 7 percent since Jan. 1 after falling about 27 percent last year from its May 3 peak of $2,797. China should shut more capacity, Soloviev...
Wall Street railed today on projections from Aluminum Producer Alcoa that it sees increased demand for aluminum globally in 2012. The Dow rallied 94 points, the Nasdaq rallied 27 points and the S&P 500 rallied 13 points by midday in the U.S. session. Traders on OpenBook are primarily long on the Dow (DJ30) with average limits at 12,550 and stops at 12,300. Federal Reserve official John Williams said that the Central Bank must be prepared to use all of its policy tools to stimulate growth. He said that growth would be frustratingly slow and the unemployment rate would remain high as lack of credit and erosion of wealth continues to linger. He hinted that the Fed’s future directions would depend on the state of the U.S. economy. He expects inflation to stay below the Fed’s informal target...
China's top aluminum producer Aluminum Corporation of China Ltd. is looking to raise USD 1 billion by listing its Peru based Toromocho copper mine assets in Hong Kong in the first half of this year. According to a company source, market watchers worry the lackluster market conditions in Hong Kong would drag down the to be listed unit's pricing, but a source from Chinalco’s overseas operations told the 21st Century Business Herald the assets are attractive to investors, and mining has also started. According to an IFR report last October, BNP Paribas SA, China International Capital Corporation Ltd and Morgan Stanley & Co. have been mandated by Chinalco to arrange the transaction. Last August, Chinalco won approval from the Peruvian environmental authorities to start work on the USD 2.2...
China's top aluminum producer Aluminum Corporation of China Ltd. is looking to raise USD 1 billion by listing its Peru based Toromocho copper mine assets in Hong Kong in the first half of this year. According to a company source, market watchers worry the lackluster market conditions in Hong Kong would drag down the to be listed unit's pricing, but a source from Chinalco’s overseas operations told the 21st Century Business Herald the assets are attractive to investors, and mining has also started. According to an IFR report last October, BNP Paribas SA, China International Capital Corporation Ltd and Morgan Stanley & Co. have been mandated by Chinalco to arrange the transaction. Last August, Chinalco won approval from the Peruvian environmental authorities to start work on the USD 2.2...
Below are the three companies in the Aluminum industry with the highest betas. Higher-beta stocks mean greater volatility and are therefore generally considered to be riskier but also may provide the potential for higher returns.Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) is highest with a beta of 2.1. Century Aluminum Company produces primary aluminum, in both molten and ingot form, through facilities located in the United States. The Company owns and operates a reduction facility in Ravenswood, West Virginia, and owns a partial interest in a reduction facility in Mt. Holly, South Carolina. Century is also the operating partner of a reduction facility in Hawesville, Kentucky. Thus far today, Century Aluminum has traded 405,000 shares, vs. average volume of 1.6 million shares per day. The stock has...
Century Aluminum Company CENX +2.17% announced that the Grundartangi smelter, owned and operated by its wholly owned subsidiary, Nordural Grundartangi ehf, experienced a temporary power outage yesterday. The outage resulted from damage sustained, due to abnormal and extreme weather conditions, at an offsite electrical substation owned and operated by the national power grid operator. The outage lasted approximately three hours and power was fully restored after approximately 12 hours. Plant personnel handled the interruption safely and no injuries have been recorded. The smelter is in the process of resuming full operations. Nordural is continuing to evaluate the full impact of the outage on the smelter, which it does not currently believe to be material. Century Aluminum Company owns...
The jobs of a further 600 aluminium smelter workers at Hydro’s Kurri Kurri aluminium smelter could be at risk, Hunter MP Joel Fitzgibbon has warned. Mr Fitzgibbon and his state Labor counterpart, Cessnock MP Clayton Barr, met with executives of the Norwegian-owned company on Thursday, a day after the company announced that 150 workers were to lose their jobs. Hydro’s senior vice-president, Olaf Wigstol, said on Wednesday the tumbling price of aluminium and the strength of the Australian dollar had prompted action as the plant was losing money. But the closure of one potline – a one-third cut in production – might not be enough to save the Kurri Kurri operation. Mr Fitzgibbon told the Mercury on Thursday that unless there was a change in market conditions, the plant’s estimated 600...
Staff in manufacturing purchasing jobs are likely to face higher bills for aluminium as one of the world's top producers forecasts prices to recover from last year's dip as suppliers cut output. Laurent Schmitt, chief executive officer of Aluminium Bahrain BSC, the second-largest producer of the metal in the Middle East, thinks the mothballing of some plants as a result of low prices will mean global supply is cut this year. "Less-competitive smelters will have to reduce their production capacity or even shut down," he told Bloomberg, adding that this would result in the recovery of London Metal Exchange prices. It comes as Alcoa Inc, another major producer, said it would reduce or shut down 12 per cent of its smelting capacity as a result of the low prices. Prices for aluminium ended the...
Hunter MPs expressed support for soon-to-be unemployed workers and struggling aluminium manufacturers, but stopped short of pledging a bailout such as the taxpayer assistance offered to the car industry. Hunter MP Joel Fitzgibbon visited Norsk Hydro at Kurri Kurri yesterday. He said people had asked whether the government was considering assistance for Hydro or Tomago Aluminium. "The point I make is companies come to the government with proposals for assistance, governments don't go to companies," Mr Fitzgibbon said. Mr Fitzgibbon said he would support such proposals if forthcoming. But assistance would have to be an investment in the industry's long-term sustainability. The plants were efficient and the workforce productive, but Hunter politicians have rejected claims that the federal...
Because of yesterday’s bad-weather-induced power cuts in Iceland production at both the Elkem ferrosilicon plant and the Norðurál aluminium smelter at Hvalfjörður in the west ground to a halt. It is thought the cuts cost the companies tens-of-millions of krónur. Power cuts are very bad for aluminium smelters and can cause severe damage to equipment after three or four hours, as molten metal cools. Ágúst Hafberg, the Norðurál manager, says that his plant in all likelihood escaped serious damage yesterday because they were lucky enough to get some limited power back after three hours. It was enough to keep equipment running, although production remained at a standstill. The electricity supply was not fully restored until 06.00 this morning. Salt and snow are blamed for causing a fire at an...
Chinese aluminum smelters plan to idle roughly one-third of their capacity - the most since 2009 - as energy costs rise and aluminum prices slump, Bloomberg reported. The country is expected to produce nearly 20 million metric tons of aluminum and reach a production capacity of 30 million tons by the end of the year, said Luo Rongjin, an analyst with Bocom International Holdings. Alcoa Inc (AA.NYSE), Rio Tinto (RIO.NYSE; LON; ASX) and other global rivals have cut production as monthly output from China has fallen after prices dropped 19% last year. Aluminum prices have been dragged down by macroeconomic data and political actions, especially the sovereign debt crisis in the eurozone, said Daniel Briesemann, an analyst at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt. Alcoa said earlier this month it would...
SINGAPORE: LME aluminum will drop to $2,132 per tonne, as a small five-wave cycle has peaked at the Thursday high of $2,197. The cycle has been developing in a rising channel, and the lower channel line points to a target of $2,132, the 38.2 percent Fibonacci retracement on the rise from $2,027.75 to $2,197. The bearish divergence on the hourly RSI indicator suggests the metal has been overbought. A fall below $2,131 will extend to $2,112, the 50 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
LME aluminum for three-month delivery dropped to an intraday low of USD 2,116/mt last Friday after Standard & Poor’s downgraded 9 euro zone countries. Better than expected Michigan University Index and leading indicators from the US came later and helped the metal narrowing loss to USD 19.3/mt or 0.89% closing at USD 2,141.3/mt. As the euro zone debt crisis worsens, SMM expects LME aluminum to give away more gains in last week to test support at the 30-day moving average. The moving band should be USD 2,100-2,150/mt. The most active SHFE aluminum contract for delivery in April is expected to open near RMB 16,150/mt and move between RMB 16,100-16,200/mt. Spot discounts over the SHFE current-month aluminum price are expected to widen to RMB 30-80/mt after the latter shifted to a later...
Global demand for caustic soda will drop because customers will likely cut alumina and aluminium production in the coming weeks, executives at US-based metal producer Alcoa said on Wednesday. The Alcoa executives are in Houston this week to ask caustic soda producers to give them some relief from rising prices. Alcoa estimates that around 85kg of caustic soda is used in the production of each 1 tonne of alumina, from which aluminium is made. As little as $10-20/tonne is the difference between profitability and making a loss at some smelters, one of the executives said. He declined to make an exact estimate of caustic soda's share of production costs, but said it was in double digits as a percentage. The US caustic soda contract price for November settled at $445-470 dry short ton...
According to the China Customs, China imported 4.0731 million tons unwrought copper and copper products in 2011, down by 5.1% compared with last year. However, copper imports reached 508,900 tons in December which hit a record high as arbitrage and financing opportunities burnished the metal's appeal. China imported 910,500 tons unwrought aluminium and aluminium products in 2011, fell by 4.7% YoY. Aluminium imports reached 103,770 tons in December while aluminium scrap imports totaled 280,000 tons.
Alcoa Inc.’s results may at first alarm investors in aluminium firms. It reported a loss of $193 million (Rs. 1,007 crore today), the first since 2009, due to weaker demand, lower prices and rising costs. Restructuring costs contributed a large chunk, arising from the company’s decision to shut unviable plants; the loss would have been $34 million excluding these costs. Falling realizations and rising costs have been a bugbear for metal companies. Alcoa’s sales fell 6.7% sequentially in the December quarter, but its cost of goods sold fell by just 1.2%, leading to the cost of goods sold as a percentage of sales rising by nearly 5 percentage points. Prices have been falling due to worries on the demand front, and jitters in the financial market. Global demand for aluminium fell in the...
Aluminum prices may rise to as much as a six-month high by the end of the quarter as processing companies replenish inventory to meet a rebound in demand, said Vedanata Resources Plc (VED), India’s biggest producer. Prices may climb to as much as $2,300 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange by March 31, Mukesh Kumar, chief operating officer of the London-based company’s Indian unit, said in an interview. Aluminum, used to make autos and aircraft, ended yesterday at $2,164 and last closed above $2,300 on Sept. 21. A rise in manufacturing indexes in China and India may spur sales of cars and consumer appliances, leading to higher demand for aluminum. Prices may be boosted by a global supply shortage in the first half as smelters idle as much as 15 percent of capacity following the...
Global aluminum production cutbacks may equal 4 percent of capacity, resulting in 2 percent of aluminum output lost for 2012, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said. With production forecast to exceed demand by 800,000 metric tons, the “buffer for further disruptions and curtailments has disappeared,” Max Layton, an analyst at Goldman, said in a report dated today. Copper “appears to be close to balance” even after European demand dropped in the fourth quarter, he said.
