00:00And at the same time, we also want to focus on other materials as well.
00:04The price of aluminium, a key industrial metal used in automotive manufacturing, constructions and packaging,
00:09has been climbing as production cuts in the Gulf region.
00:13Logistically, it constrains an Iranian attack on two regional producers over the weekend, tightened supply.
00:19On March 31st, the benchmark London Metal Exchange LME three-month price for aluminium rose to US$3,535 per
00:28metric ton,
00:29and a year-on-year increase of around 40 percent.
00:34Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps IRGC said on Sunday that they launched missile and drone strikes on aluminium plants in
00:42Bahrain and the UAE
00:43that are linked to the US military and aerospace industries in retaliation for the US-Israeli attacks on Iranian steel
00:50factories.
00:52Emirates Global Aluminium issued a statement saying that its Al-Tawila site in the Khalifa Economic Zone in Abu Dhabi
00:58was severely damaged after Iranian strikes, with some employees injured.
01:04Aluminium Bahrain confirmed in a statement on Sunday that some of its facilities were struck by Iranian attacks,
01:10resulting in injuries of two employees.
01:14The two aluminium plants have combined annual output of 3.2 million tonnes,
01:19more than half of the approximately 6 million tonnes of aluminium produced every year by Gulf Corporation Council GCC member
01:26states.
01:27The region is a key source of aluminium supply, counting for about 9 percent of global production.
01:34Goldman Sachs on Tuesday raised its LME aluminium price forecast from US$3,200 to US$3,450 per ton
01:43for the second quarter of 2026 after the attacks on the facilities.
01:48Goldman Sachs also predicted a global primary aluminium market supply deficit of 570,000 tonnes in 2026,
01:57a sharp turnaround from its previous forecast of 550,000 tonnes surplus.
02:03Analysts point out that the aluminium market is currently facing multiple shocks,
02:07with shipping in the streets of Hormuz disrupted, aluminium production facilities in the Gulf damaged or even shut down,
02:13and production in other parts of the world currently limited.
02:17The impact will also spread to downstream enterprises in the coming months with higher-cost aluminium alloys,
02:23primarily used in the aerospace, automotive and construction industries, facing the most constrained supply.
02:29The impact will also spread to downstream enterprises in the coming months with higher-cost aluminium alloys,
02:36primarily used in the aerospace, automotive and construction industries, facing the most constrained supply.
02:43The Gulf region has long been a significant source of these high-end products, particularly for the European market and
02:50also supplies manufacturers in the United States.
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