February 2012 | Aluminium Weekly Market Tracker
Primary and Secondary Fundamental Analysis
Analysis of consumption and production of primary aluminium, and an analysis of the market drivers of secondary aluminium and aluminium scrap.
US aluminium premiums have risen for the third time this year on the back of a pickup in manufacturing activity, tightening supply, a widening contango on the LME, waiting times in warehouses, and increasing costs of freight. Midwest spot aluminium premiums picked up to 8.0-8.5 ¢/lb last week from 7.6-8.2 ¢/lb the week before and 7.4-8.1 ¢/lb at the beginning of the year. Availability of supply of the metal in the USA is continuing to deteriorate following the loss in production at Rio Tinto Alcan’s Alma facility operating at about one-third of its 438,000 tpy capacity since the start of the year, after more than 750 union workers were locked out when contract talks broke down, while a circuitry failure at the 100,000 tpy Shawinigan plant has slowed production by 50%. The supply cuts come in time when US domestic demand continues its steady recovery as downstream consumers, particularly in...
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