Some alumina refineries in China were finding it difficult to make profits in the face of higher production costs and falling alumina prices, raising the risk of production cuts in the future, Fastmarkets heard on Thursday June 9

Dwindling demand and differing supply situations between regions pressured aluminium billet premiums down or kept them unchanged across the world on Wednesday June 1, with clear bearishness slowly taking over global markets

China’s alumina exports to Russia surged in April amid stronger demand from the latter due to international trade sanctions imposed on it following its invasion of Ukraine

Brazilian foreign trade chamber Camex has decided to cut import duties by an additional 10% until the end of 2023 after having already reduced tariffs by 10% in November 2021, according to a document published in the country’s official gazette on Tuesday May 24

Fastmarkets used the London Metal Exchange base metals prices at 9:41am London time for the arbitrage calculations on Monday May 23, because there was no data available at 8:00am due to a system error.

Availability and the costs of trucking are now starting to significantly impact the flow of material in continental Europe, putting pressures on supply chains and keeping base metals premiums elevated, participants have told Fastmarkets

The build-up of Shanghai bonded copper stocks continued in April, albeit at a slower pace, with restrictions to prevent the spread of Covid-19 disrupting logistics, particularly earlier in the month

Key talking points at Fastmarkets’ bauxite and alumina conference, held in Miami, United States, April 26-28.

Aluminium premiums in Europe continued to reach new highs in the week to Tuesday May 3, while premiums in the United States, Japan and Brazil were unchanged but well supported.

The European aluminium market has experienced extreme tightness so far in 2022, due to high energy costs pushing European smelters offline just when there has been strong demand and with the situation being exacerbated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine