Energy costs drive China's August inflation as non-ferrous metals surge 20.8%
China's producer inflation accelerated in August as higher energy and non-ferrous metal prices pushed industrial costs higher, while weak domestic demand kept consumer inflation subdued. China's factory-gate inflation accelerated in August, with non-ferrous metal smelting and processing prices...
China’s 45Mt aluminium cap pushes producers overseas as global dominance grows
China’s aluminium industry is running close to its limits in 2026. As Shanghai aluminium prices near a three-month high, historically low raw material costs and strong smelter margins encourage producers to operate at maximum capacity. National aluminium output remains above Beijing’s...
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From GDP targets to security systems: the four key transitions shaping China's 15th Five-Year Plan
The 15th Five-Year Plan outlines four key transitions that reorient development priorities away from speed- and quantity-based metrics toward quality, security, and long-term institutional capacity. 1 | Growth engine: from factor-driven expansion to high-tech industrialisation Building on the 14th...
China pushes surplus petrol cars abroad as EV engulfs the domestic market
China’s rapid embrace of electric vehicles has transformed its home market so completely that gasoline-powered cars, once the backbone of global automakers’ operations in the country, have been pushed to the margins. As Chinese consumers started embracing EVs, traditional foreign manufacturers were...
Upstream aluminium’s uneven journey: Tighter margins, new supply, and a bauxite re-shuffle
The global aluminium industry is closing the year on a note that looks calm on the surface but carries deep structural shifts underneath. Prices remained relatively steady, yet the stories shaping the primary metal, alumina, and bauxite markets hinted at a sector adjusting to new geopolitical,...
Hubei introduces world’s first one-piece large aluminium frame installed in BYD vehicles
On December 2, 2025, Chinese automotive equipment manufacturer Hubei Hantek Equipment Manufacturing Co., Ltd. unveiled the world’s first one-piece, low-pressure-cast, all-aluminium large-vehicle frame at the 2025 Yangtze River Industry and Technology Innovation Conference in Hubei. The structure is...
SMM weekly survey: Aluminium processing industry strained by off-season and high aluminium prices, with structural divergence persisting
The weekly operating rate of leading domestic aluminium downstream processing enterprises fell 0.4 percentage points w-o-w to 61.9 per cent, with the market continuing to show structural divergence. The operating rate of primary aluminium alloy remained stable at 60.2 per cent, as long-term...
CONF: China's aluminium producers scrambling to expand overseas capacity
In recent years, Chinese aluminium companies have shown growing interest in expanding their footprint overseas, with several companies already operating plants, or planning to invest, in resource-rich countries such as Indonesia, Guinea, and Kazakhstan, Mo noted. This "going global" strategy is...
Sulphuric acid prices remain high, supporting costs, aluminium fluoride prices rise following tender guidance
This week, with the tender price for aluminium fluoride set by a leading downstream enterprise, the market received guidance, and overall prices rose. As of now, SMM aluminium fluoride prices closed at RMB 10,200-10,500 per tonne, and SMM cryolite was quoted at RMB 7,400-9,000 per tonne. Raw...
How far is Europe from securing its rare earth future?
China, which has been the long-standing dominator of rare earths and its supply chain, imposed strict restrictions on rare earth exports on October 8. Many dependents on China’s rare earth, including the US and the EU, faced impacts, but later on, managed to strike a year-long truce. Beside China,...
Henan unveils action plan for red mud utilisation
Henan province, a major aluminium and alumina producing hub in Central China, is stepping up efforts in systematically tackling the difficulties in the comprehensive utilisation of solid waste from alumina production in order to foster sustainable development for its alumina industry, Mysteel has...
ASI certifies Wuxi Dicastal Wheel Manufacturing Co., Ltd. against Performance Standard V3.1 and Chain of Custody V2
CITIC Dicastal Co., Ltd. has achieved ASI Performance Standard V3.1 (2023) and Chain of Custody (CoC) Standard V2 (2022) Certification for the manufacture of aluminium alloy wheels and castings at their Wuxi Dicastal Wheel Manufacturing Co., Ltd facility in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, China. Aluminium...
WEEKLY: China's thermal coal market softens on bloated inventories
As of November 28, Mysteel's assessment for the benchmark 5,500 kcal per kg thermal coal at China's northern ports reached RMB 821per tonne (USD 116.8per tonne), down RMB 9per tonne from a week ago. The 5,000 kcal per kg and 4,500 kcal per kg NAR grades reached RMB 721per tonne and RMB 625per...
Anti-dumping duties to be levied on Chinese aluminium, says Eurasian Economic Commission
The Eurasian Economic Commission, under the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council, has introduced a series of fresh trade measures targeting the Chinese imports of titanium dioxide and aluminium foil. Following the Council’s instruction, the board has agreed to impose anti-dumping duties on both...
WEEKLY: China's alumina prices soften further, inventories hit new high
Mysteel assessed the national average spot price for metallurgical-grade alumina with purity above 98.6 per cent at RMB 2,851 per tonne (USD 403 per tonne) on November 27, marking a marginal 0.3 per cent drop from a week earlier. During the same week, alumina stocks reached another all-time high....
Dry season looms: Rising power costs to drive December aluminium weighted average cost higher
According to SMM data, the average tax-inclusive full cost for China's aluminium industry in November 2025 was RMB 16,057 per tonne, up 1.1 per cent m-o-m but down 21 per cent y-o-y. This was mainly due to a smaller-than-expected drop in the monthly average alumina price during the period, coupled...
US Fed risk warnings and interest rate cut expectations are intertwined, aluminium market maintains high-level consolidation
Futures: During the night session on December 1, the most-traded SHFE aluminium 2601 contract opened at RMB 21,870 per tonne, reached a highest price of RMB 21,940 per tonne, a lowest price of RMB 21,820 per tonne, and finally closed at RMB 21,885 per tonne, up 0.09 per cent. From a technical...
ASI certifies Dicastal KSM Autoparts QinHuangdao Co., Ltd. against Performance Standard V3.1 and Chain of Custody V2
CITIC Dicastal Co., Ltd. has achieved ASI Performance Standard V3.1 (2023) and Chain of Custody (CoC) Standard V2 (2022) Certification for the design and manufacture of die casting parts at their Dicastal KSM Autoparts QinHuangdao Co., Ltd. facility located in Hebei Province, China. Aluminium...
Harman faces $11.8m payout after decade-long duty evasion on Chinese aluminium imports comes to light
An agreement to pay USD 11.8 million by Harman International Industries, Inc., has surfaced for settling the allegations of violating the False Claims Act and other statutes. This allegation came by evading the antidumping and countervailing duties on goods which are made of extruded aluminium from...
China's domestic bauxite prices firm on tight supply, seaborne ore prices edge down amid rising supply
China's domestic bauxite prices remained firm last week, as supply tightness has not changed and is unlikely to improve in the near term. Some alumina producers in inland regions intend to raise consumption of seaborne bauxite amid the downward trend of seaborne bauxite prices. In terms of seaborne...
