Alcoa Sees Aluminum Shifting to Deficit on Record Demand

Alcoa Inc., the largest U.S. aluminum producer, expects the supplies of the metal will fall short of demand this year, shifting away from a surplus in 2015.

The aluminum market will have a deficit of 1.2 million metric tons in 2016 as demand increases 6 percent from last year to a record 60.5 million tons, New York-based Alcoa said Monday in its fourth-quarter earnings statement. In October, the company said it estimated consumption climbed by 6.5 percent in 2015.