Global: Aluminum prices are recovering due to production cuts by producers

According to media reports on January 9, Aluminium Bahrain BSC, the second largest aluminum producer in the Middle East, expects aluminum prices to recover this year as some producers cut production. Laurent Schmitt, CEO of the company, responded in an email that the less competitive aluminum smelters had to cut output or even shut down in the first half of this year because of low aluminum prices. This will lead to a rebalancing of aluminum supply and demand, and aluminum prices will recover accordingly. . The average price of the three-month aluminum of the London Metal Exchange (LME) was US$2115/ton in the fourth quarter, and the aluminum price was US$1956/ton on December 14, 2011, which was a new low for 17 months, and was higher than the number set for 2011 on May 3. The annual new high of 2803 US dollars / ton fell 30%.

When aluminum prices fell due to a global oversupply, Alcoa, the largest aluminum producer in the United States, said on January 6 that it would close or reduce its global smelting capacity by 12%. Schmitt stated that Bahrain Aluminum does not need to reduce production because of its lower production costs. Europe will undoubtedly be affected by the current economic situation, but the company still expects steady growth in the Middle East, North Africa, Asia, and the Americas.

Affected by the European sovereign debt crisis and measures taken by China to control inflation, global economic growth has slowed down, so the average aluminum price in the previous quarter fell by 11% year-on-year. Aluminum supply exceeds demand and inventory keeps rising, which makes some aluminum smelters unable to make profits in front of current aluminum prices.