Alcoa Corporation has agreed to acquire South32's entire aluminium value chain for an implied enterprise value of up to $5.6 billion in a deal that represents one of the largest consolidations in the global aluminium industry in years.
Weekly review of LME base metals markets covering aluminium, copper, zinc, lead, nickel, and tin, analysing price action, spreads, warehouse stocks, cancelled warrants, and the macro and physical drivers behind trading activity during the week ending 26 June 2026.
European Aluminium has called on the EU to introduce a targeted indirect ban on Russian aluminium in the bloc's next sanctions package.
The European Commission has pushed back its planned aluminium scrap export restrictions to September 2026, according to sector group European Aluminium, after missing an original spring 2026 target. The Commission has not publicly explained the delay.
The European Commission has pushed back its planned aluminium scrap export restrictions to September 2026, according to sector group European Aluminium, after missing an original spring 2026 target. The Commission has not publicly explained the delay.
The policy was initially announced by Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic on November 18, 2025 at a sector event in Brussels, where he committed to measures tackling what he called scrap leakage from the bloc. EU aluminium scrap exports have risen sharply in recent years, reaching 1.27 million tonnes in 2025 according to Eurostat data, with India, China and Thailand the dominant buyers. In the first quarter of 2026 alone, 328,134 tonnes left the EU, with 69% destined for Asia. European producers say the outflows are leaving domestic recycling plants short of feedstock.
Industry support for the export curb is split. European Aluminium, the main sector body, backed the Commission strongly, with director general Paul Voss calling the November announcement a strong and timely statement of intent and calling for export duties of up to 30%. Opponents include the Bureau of International Recycling, representing 37 national recycling federations, and the European Recycling Industries' Confederation, both of which have argued that high exports reflect weak domestic demand and insufficient EU capacity to process mixed-grade scrap, and that trade barriers risk jobs and scrap collection economics without solving the underlying problem.
India filed an official memorandum with the EU on June 8 warning that restrictions could harm its domestic secondary industry. The EU ambassador to India indicated no imminent restriction on Indian flows specifically.
With Gulf primary supply disrupted and LME Aluminium cash down to $3164/t, down roughly 21% from its June 2 peak of $3,855/t, Europe's capacity to substitute recycled metal for unavailable primary supply is being tested in real time.
Alcoa Corporation has agreed to acquire South32's entire aluminium value chain for an implied enterprise value of up to $5.6 billion in a deal that represents one of the largest consolidations in the global aluminium industry in years.
Weekly review of LME base metals markets covering aluminium, copper, zinc, lead, nickel, and tin, analysing price action, spreads, warehouse stocks, cancelled warrants, and the macro and physical drivers behind trading activity during the week ending 26 June 2026.
European Aluminium has called on the EU to introduce a targeted indirect ban on Russian aluminium in the bloc's next sanctions package.
Century Aluminum and Brimstone, a California-based innovator in alumina production, signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at establishing what would be the first fully domestic mine-to-metal aluminium supply chain in the United States.
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