Aluminium is a relatively new metal – it was discovered in 1827 but could not be produced efficiently until 1895. Aluminium is a metal with a great future since it is strong, light in weight and can be recycled repeatedly.
Thanks to these properties, its compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is the highest of all the LME metals – i.e. consumption of aluminium is growing at a faster pace than the other base metals even though its consumption its only exceeded by that of steel.
New aluminium production can be brought on line considerably faster than production facilities for most of the other metals, which makes the industry considerably more responsive to consumption growth. This is one of the reasons why aluminium prices tend to lag behind the other metals when global growth is strong.
Aluminium competes with steel in many of its uses; although aluminium is considerably more expensive, it has the advantage of being lighter, corrosion resistant, a good conductor of electricity and strong when alloyed. Aluminium also competes with tin-plate, plastics and glass in the packaging industry and with copper in cable, wire and heat exchangers. Price differentials between these competing commodities and full life-cycle costings tend to determine which materials are winning and which are losing market share at any one time. Read more about uses of aluminium.
Sample Aluminum News from FastMarkets Professional
BASE AND PRECIOUS METALS - European Morning View - Bullion sells-off aggressively, while base metals consolidate by WAdams - 20-05-2013London 20/05/2013 - The metals started Friday on a mixed footing and ended the same way. At th...
Base metals lack purpose, no clear drivers at present by KRetourne - 17-05-2013
Trading was uncertain in Friday's premarket, with base metals oscillating unevenly and lacking clear...
BASE AND PRECIOUS METALS - European Morning View - Copper leads the base metals higher, while precious metals consolidate by WAdams - 17-05-2013
London 17/05/2013 - The metals tried lower yesterday morning and at the day’s lows the base ...
FOCUS - Long aluminium, short copper strategy could pay dividends - SocGen by TJennemann - 16-05-2013
Aluminium prices could outperform copper by some 20 percent before year-end, Société Générale sa...
Base metals slip, brief Asian rally sputters out by KRetourne - 16-05-2013
Base metals were under pressure again on Thursday morning, unable to sustain a brief rally attempt i...
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