Primary aluminium inventories extended decline by 50,000 mt on week

On February 5th, Rio Tinto said it is no longer in takeover talks with Glencore after the parties failed to agree on terms that would deliver value to Rio shareholders, marking the third time such discussions have fallen apart (following failed approaches in 2014 and 2024). Glencore said the proposed structure— including Rio retaining the Chairman and CEO roles and a pro forma ownership split—significantly undervalued Glencore’s relative contribution, and therefore was not in Glencore shareholders’ interests. Following the announcement, Glencore shares fell as much as 10.8% while Rio’s London-listed shares were down around 2.6%. Reuters noted the setback echoes other stalled mega-deals in the mining sector, such as BHP’s failed bid for Anglo American.

[SMM Aluminum News Flash] According to SMM data on February 5, as the Chinese New Year holiday approached, downstream processing enterprises began taking holidays successively. Coupled with high aluminum prices suppressing demand, the operating rate of aluminum semis declined and demand weakened. The proportion of liquid aluminum dropped 8.6 percentage points WoW this week.

Overseas alumina transaction: On February 4, 2026, 30,000 mt of alumina was transacted overseas at a transaction price of $310/mt FOB East Australia, or $313/mt FOB West Australia, with April shipment and origin at seller's option; the previous transaction occurred on February 3 at a transaction price of $310/mt FOB West Australia, with March shipment.