Aluminum Slump Means 25% of Smelters Losing Money: Commodities
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The biggest decline in aluminum prices since the global recession means at least 25 percent of the world’s smelters may be unprofitable.
The metal fell 23 percent to $2,125 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange since May 1 and energy costs gained 12 percent in the past month. Twenty-five percent of production loses money below $2,350 and 50 percent under $2,000, according to estimates by Bloomberg Industries. About 10 percent of output may be shut by the first quarter, said Jochen Hitzfeld, the analyst at UniCredit SpA in Munich ranked by Bloomberg as the most-accurate price forecaster over two years.