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    Wittbecker on Aluminum: Middle East trades and $4B smelter for Oklahoma

    Written by Greg Wittbecker


    President Trump’s trip to the Middle East has had a heavy emphasis on commercial dealmaking with some politics thrown in for good measure. So far, the major deals that have been announced have been impressive.

    Saudi Arabia: a $142 billion arms sale; Nvidia will bring 18,000 of its Blackwell GPU to the Kingdom to enable them to develop regional leadership in AI; Amazon plans to build a $5 billion AI Zone; Supermicro struck a $20 billion deal with DataVolt.

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    AMU: Edward Meir’s week in review and thoughts for the week of Oct. 12, 2026

    Base metals had a mixed week. Tin lost almost 4% on the week, finishing at $53,000/ton. Prices dropped to a low of $51,259/ton at one point. Aluminum was another loser, off by about 1.6% on the week. Investors are expecting more aluminum supply going forward, especially out of China and Indonesia. Copper prices tacked on 1.1%. They have now recovered more than half of the $700/ton loss sustained (over the course of a week) following reports/rumors in mid-September that US tariffs on refined copper imports might not proceed after all.