Aluminium prices on roller-coaster ride after Indonesia reportedly mulls expediting bauxite export ban

SHANGHAI, Sep 9 (SMM) – Shanghai aluminium prices soared nearly 2% to a one-year high of 14,675 yuan/mt in afternoon trade, following the report that Indonesia is considering expediting its ban on bauxite exports.

The most-traded aluminium contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange for November delivery later gave back those gains to end the trading day only a tad higher at 14,385 yuan/mt.

Luhut Pandjaitan, coordinating minister of Indonesia, reportedly said that the country is mulling accelerating the implementation of the ban on exports of bauxite, the raw material used to produce aluminium. Ending exports of bauxite is currently slated for 2022.

The Southeast Asian country said at the end of August that it will restrict nickel ore exports from January 2020, two years earlier than the previous timetable. This sparked fears of supply shortages and bolstered prices of the ingredient for stainless steel and lithium-ion batteries used to power electric vehicles.  

China imported 1.32 million mt of bauxite from Indonesia in July, accounting for 14% of the total, showed SMM calculations based on Customs data.