Why Section 232 Sanctions May Do the U.S. Aluminium Sector More Harm than Good
Late last week the United States Commerce Department delivered to President Donald Trump the much-anticipated results of its Section 232...
Features
The Dunkerque Smelter: Is Rio Tinto Wrong Again?
Reports that Rio Tinto agreed to sell the Dunkerque plant, the largest aluminium smelter in Europe, located in northern France, confirms the London-based company’s willingness to offload parts of its aluminium business. The deal was agreed with Liberty House, an industrial arm...
Steep Coal Costs Blunt Indian Aluminium Makers’ Edge
Indian aluminium producers’ hope to harvest gains from resilient LME (London Metal Exchange) prices and smelter capacity shutdowns in China...
Aluminium Combines Now: While ALRO Flourishes, KAP Flounders
While seemingly very different, Romania’s ALRO and Montenegro’s KAP – Kombinat Aluminijuma Podgorica – share one key number: $570 million....
Events
Year in Review: The Journey of Aluminium Prices in 2017
The last twelve months have seen an incredible comeback in the aluminium market. Thanks to sweeping fundamental changes in the way aluminium is produced and consumed, the metal has rocketed from lows of $1,700 to five-year highs, before settling around the $2,000 mark. But what caused such a remarkable turnaround, and will the forces that […]
Why aluminium prices still have potential to grow
Aluminium has been the top-performing base metal this year, prices climbing 25 % so far, largely due to China’s determination to shutter illegal smelters, and cut production of aluminium and alumina by 30% in four provinces around Beijing during the winter, to curb pollution. After reaching the its highest level in five years of US$ […]
The Promised Road: Implementing Aluminium Capacity Cuts (Part 2)
As mentioned in the first part of this series, three main policies will remain in force this winter. We have already shown that the policy of shutting down illegal production capacity is strictly implemented. So far, the vast majority of illegal production have been closed or halted. The same trend is visible in the implementation […]
The Promised Road: Where is China’s Aluminium Industry Headed? (Part 1)
*Overcapacity: policy failure or implementation issue? *How will the policies be enforced this winter? *Will the shuttered capacity be restarted after March? *Where is China’s aluminium industry headed? The heating season in northern China has officially arrived. At the same time, the shadow of the deteriorating air quality over the past few years […]
Long Read: Hongqiao’s Trials and Tribulations in 2017
The world’s largest aluminium firm has had a challenging year. From a series of damaging anonymous reports from short sellers to seeing its stock crashing down as a result, 2017 has been a minefield for China Hongqiao Group. According to critics, the company is scarcely out of danger, as it has a myriad of explosive […]
The Net-Zero Shift Starts With Low Carbon Aluminium
2020 was supposed to be “year of climate action”, with the Glasgow COP26 acting as a major milestone for both businesses and policymakers to accelerate decarbonization efforts. However, with COVID-19 disrupting lives and economies in an unprecedented manner, countries across the globe ...
Aluminium at the LME Week – Key Takeaways
Between October 28 and November 1st, London hosted the traditional London Metals Exchange (LME) Week gathering of analysts, brokers, traders ...
Aluminium Market Oversupplied, Demand Growth Flat
Base metals prices reacted positively to the progress registered in the latest round of US – China trade talks in ...
Aluminium of Greece (AOG): is the Pechiney spirit still alive?
Between September 24-25, FastmarketsMB organized its annual aluminium conference in Athens. A day before the conference, in accordance with an ...
