OCBC has revised its end-2026 aluminium price forecast upward to approximately US$3,150 per tonne from an earlier projection of US$3,050. The bank attributed the revision to a slower-than-anticipated rebound in Gulf aluminium production, BusinessToday reported.
At the end of September, three-month aluminium contracts on the London Metal Exchange were trading at US$3,214 per tonne. Production growth across smelters in the Gulf Cooperation Council decelerated to 2 percent month-on-month in August, down from 6.2 percent recorded in July, following regional supply disruptions.
In contrast, aluminium output in China expanded by 4.7 percent year-on-year in August, sustaining near-record production levels to help mitigate shortfalls from the Gulf region. Chinese exports of unwrought aluminium and aluminium products also grew by 17.3 percent year-on-year over the same period.
Sources
- BusinessToday · 2026-10-04
