Category: South America

Rio Tinto is embarking on a major upgrade of the nearly century-old hydroelectric station in Quebec to secure low-carbon power for its aluminum smelters in the region.

Iron ore prices were largely steady in March, hovering around $100–102 per dry metric ton (dmt) in a quiet market.

Do we want the benefits of the Section 232 tariffs to flow to the bottom lines of foreign steel and aluminum producers or to the US government and, ultimately, domestic manufacturers and their workers? In our view, the answer is simple. Section 232 exceptions do nothing more than lead to underserved profits for foreign manufacturers who are harming the US industrial base. That revenue could be used to pursue the Trump administration’s other policy priorities - such as deficit reduction or expanded tax cuts.

The problem is that the situation in Washington is so fluid that no one really knows what to expect

Executive orders, LME volatility and more

EU restrictions on Russia, Canadian tariffs, scrap leakage and more

Many people have shaken off the post-holiday blues. But for primary aluminum operators, “power blues” are enduring.

A bleak outlook for steel demand has undermined market confidence, contributing to the drop in prices.

Recovery continues but geopolitical risks remain for 2025

Highlights from the aluminum industry this week

Aloca reports strong results Alcoa‘s performance improved in Q3 due to reduced costs and higher alumina prices, the Pittsburgh-based company said in its Q3 financial results. The report coincided with an announcement on the future of Alcoa San Ciprián operations, in the Galicia region of Spain – a strategic agreement with IGNIS EQT, a Madrid-based […]

A roundup of the week's CRU aluminum news.

CRU Aluminum Analyst Marziyeh Horeh shares a roundup of this week's news from the aluminum industry.

Long seen as being dominated by iron ore operations in Western Australia, diversified miner Rio Tinto is at an inflection point in its growth, according to CEO Jakob Stausholm, who referred to a step change from its aluminium business and consistent iron ore production at Pilbara. “We have considerable growth in cash flow from the […]

A roundup of CRU aluminum news from the past week.

A roundup of aluminum news from CRU.

The Mexican government said on Thursday that it had negotiated a temporary carve out for Brazilian steel in recently updated Section 232 rules. Mexico said that the pact would stretch until 2027, by which point all steel exported to the US would have to me “melted and poured” within North America.

A roundup of recent aluminum news from CRU.

We’re just a few months away from SMU’s Steel Summit 2024 – North America’s premier flat-rolled steel conference.

The LME 3-month price for aluminum was broadly stable on the morning of May 24 and, at the writing of this article, was last seen trading at $2,627 per metric ton. The price fell sharply during the week from its recent peak amid hawkish comments from Fed officials, as indicated in the minutes of the […]

Brazil’s chamber of foreign trade, Camex, has approved quotas on imports of 11 steel products and a 25% levy on shipments 30% above a product’s average import volume between 2020 and 2022.

If successful in its overtures to Anglo American, BHP will create the world’s largest diversified miner by a country mile. The rationale for this merger is scale and in mining, size matters. 

Prices for pig iron in Brazil have increased despite efforts by US-based buyers to lower them. 

Falling US sheet prices have reduced the attractiveness of hot-rolled (HR) coil imports as domestic mills price competitively to secure limited business. However, tightness in the CR coil market has extended delivery to June or July in some cases, and buyers may consider to import given competitive prices and arrival times.

The US Midwest premium continued to trade between 18.8–19.4 cents per pound (¢/lb) this week. There remains a host of macroeconomic and geopolitical risks in the current environment, but none have affected the short-term outlook for the premium. Current trading for April reached 20 ¢/lb which is on par with CRU’s current forecast for Q2’24. Dates closer to the end of the year have fallen to 21.2 ¢/lb.

The iron ore price has edged up further from the already high level seen last week. The market is generally slow, meaning that the moderate price increase came from the bullish outlook from the market following last week’s stimulus announcements from China and expectations of restocking picking up. Supply fell w/w from both Australia and Brazil as […]

The International Trade Commission (ITC) made its final injury determination in a sunset review of import duties on circular welded pipe from a handful of countries.

The LME Aluminum 3-month price is moving up again on the morning of Dec. 8 and was last seen trading at $2,157 per metric ton. The way the price increased first thing in the morning suggests a support may have finally been found, but resistance could hit quickly at $2,200 /metric ton. SHFE cash was […]

Mining-metal group Rio Tinto has completed a transaction to purchase half of US aluminum recycling company Matalco from owner, the Giampaolo Group, for $700 million (€638 million), subject to final closing adjustments. The companies will turn Matalco into a 50:50 joint venture. The investment will expand Rio Tinto’s aluminum business in the US, where demand […]

The iron ore price has been rising from the $118 /dry metric ton (DMT) level seen in the last edition, initially due to greater optimism in China after the government’s RMB 1 trillion fiscal stimulus announcement. The price has gotten some extra support from concerns over supply, though the current price level is not backed by […]