Due to global supply disruptions and strong demand in China, the primary raw material market for aluminum smelters has continued to tighten, with Shanghai aluminum oxide futures prices soaring to historic highs.
According to the Securities Times app, due to global supply interruptions and strong demand in China, the primary raw material market for aluminum smelters continues to tighten, causing Shanghai aluminum oxide futures prices to soar to historic highs. On Friday, the price of aluminum oxide on the Shanghai Futures Exchange surged by 6.4% to 4630 yuan (approximately 655 US dollars) per ton, the highest level for this contract since its debut in June 2023; prices for shipments from Western Australia rose to 550 US dollars per ton, reaching the highest level since 2021. Boosted by this news, pre-market trading on Friday, as of the time of publication, Alcoa Corp. (AA.US) rose by nearly 4%, while Century Aluminum (CENX.US) surged over 4%.
In the past year, due to supply issues in China and Australia, aluminum prices have been on the rise. The recent increase in aluminum prices may also be driven by reports of supply disruptions in Guinea. Guinea is one of the world's largest bauxite suppliers, with bauxite being the primary raw material for aluminum oxide. Research institution Mysteel Global stated on Friday that transportation of bauxite from a mine in Guinea may have been disrupted, but did not disclose details.
