Rio Tinto Q1 2026 Aluminum Output Rises 1% Amid Stronger Alumina Production and Global Supply Tightness

During yesterday's night session and today's morning session, SHFE aluminum futures prices plunged. In the Central China market, downstream processing enterprises' buying sentiment recovered somewhat, and their stockpiling willingness increased. Trading firms engaging in both spot and futures markets were inclined to quickly capture price spreads, with significant sentiment of holding prices firm and holding back from selling, driving market quotations to stay high. Ultimately, the actual transaction price range in the Central China market was around a discount of 120-140 yuan/mt against the SHFE aluminum July contract.

Chalco Zhengzhou Research Institute has actively responded to the requirements of Chalco Group's "3+4+4+4" scientific and technological innovation system, closely aligned with the "four special strengths" objectives and the "Digital-Intelligent New Chalco" development direction, and successfully developed the seventh-generation aluminum electrolysis pot control system. The system has achieved breakthroughs in key technical areas such as intelligent crust breaking, current distribution optimization, and online monitoring. By innovating material balance and energy balance algorithms, it has significantly enhanced three core capabilities: real-time perception of operating conditions, intelligent decision-making response, and precise control. In industrial application, the new-generation pot control system has demonstrated notable advantages: the precision of alumina concentration control has been substantially improved, effectively ensuring the long-term stable operation of electrolysis pots; current efficiency has achieved a breakthrough increase, providing key technical equipment support for aluminum enterprises to realize stable and high production as well as reduced energy consumption. Recently, Chalco Zhengzhou Research Institute reached a strategic cooperation with a key enterprise in the Xinjiang region and signed a supply agreement for 240 pot control systems, a move that will further accelerate the intelligent transformation of the aluminum electrolysis industry.

Canada’s ambassador to the US said that in trade negotiations with Washington, Canada’s top objective is to secure relief from the hefty tariffs the US has imposed on key industrial sectors such as steel, aluminum, and automobiles. Mark Wiseman, a former pension fund and BlackRock executive, noted that Canadians need not focus excessively on the formal review process for the existing US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which is about to begin on July 1. Wiseman told business figures that senior Trump administration officials, led by US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, have indicated they intend to keep the agreement but will make amendments to it. Moreover, even if a renewal deal is not reached after July 1, the USMCA’s provisions will remain in effect for another decade, continuing until 2036.