Aluminium prices under pressure, but brighter prospects on the horizon

Weak global manufacturing has hit aluminium prices, but the impact is likely to be short-lived as the physical market is tight, including in top consumer China. A deficit in top producer China - expected to produce 42.5-million metric tons, close to its 45-million ton capacity - and short supplies of feedstocks bauxite and alumina are expected to push aluminium prices back on an upward trajectory.