LONDON --The global alumina market is expected to be in a modest surplus in 2007, with prices in averaging in the mid-$200 a metric tons area, Dick Evans, Alcan Inc. (AL) president and chief executive said on a conference call Wednesday.
With this backdrop, alumina should see "one, maybe two years of relatively tame" prices, Evans noted.
This compares with a market which "gyrated wildly" in 2006, moving from above $650/ton to below $200/ton by the end of the year, he added.
The fall in prices was the result of rising supplies, particularly from refineries in China, which pushed the market back into surplus from deficit.
But Evans said recent supply disruption in Guinea, which saw workers at the country's bauxite mines and alumina refineries down tools as part of a nationwide strike, pushed spot alumina prices up to the mid-$350s/ton.
Guinea was a "very good reminder" of just how tight the alumina market is, he added, noting similar supply side disruptions in 2007 could change the market's fundamentals very quickly.
豫公网安备41010502003434号