News that Hydro's Alunorte alumina refinery will return to full capacity, after the production embargo was removed, did little to stop the recent increase in alumina prices.
Fastmarkets' benchmark alumina price settled at $366.25 per tonne on May 21, up from $362.88 per tonne day on day and a 6% increase from $345.01 per tonne on May 10 when the index fell to its lowest since August 24, 2017. "Alunorte will not change the physical situation of the market for four to six weeks in my opinion, so short term the market needs to move with the current deals until there is a new one based on Alunorte," a trader said. The recent price rise follows production issues in China after Xinfa Group was ordered to close production lines...