Alcoa Sees Record Aluminum Deficit Even as Goldman Predicts Glut
- Price slump forcing some money-losing smelters to curb output
- Cuts by China may fall short of forecast as energy costs drop
Alcoa Sees Record Aluminum Deficit
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Alcoa Inc., which is spinning off aluminum assets later this year, sees something that much of the market doesn’t: an end to the prolonged surplus that left prices near a six-year low.
With about half the world’s aluminum plants losing money, the U.S. company that invented the domestic industry more than a century ago says global demand will exceed production this year by a record 1.2 million metric tons, forcing car and appliance makers to draw down inventories. While others predict smaller deficits, many banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and producers like Norsk Hydro ASA say the glut will only get bigger.