Rusal's financial report showed that, affected by its capacity optimization plan, full-year 2025 primary aluminum production fell 1.9% YoY to 3.918 million mt (2024: 3.992 million mt). Alumina production, meanwhile, rose 6.7% YoY to 6.858 million mt. In addition, benefiting from the Guinea expansion project and increased equity interests in refineries in China and India, bauxite production increased 16.2% YoY to 18.453 million mt.

[Weekly Operating Rates in the Aluminum Processing Industry: China's Aluminum Processing Sector Sees Modest Growth Amid Peak Season Demand] This week, the weekly operating rate of leading downstream aluminum processing enterprises in China edged up 1 percentage point WoW to 62.9%.

[SMM Morning Meeting Summary: The US Fed Held Rates Unchanged, and LME Zinc Came Under Pressure] Overnight, LME zinc opened at $3,220.5/mt. In early trading, LME zinc briefly rose to a high of $3,227/mt, after which bulls reduced their positions, and LME zinc fluctuated downward throughout the session, hitting a low of $3,130/mt near the close. It finally closed down at $3,132.5/mt, a decrease of $100.5/mt, or 3.11%. Trading volume increased to 16,556 lots, and open interest fell by 6,295 lots to 208,000 lots.

[SMM Aluminum Express News] Russian Ambassador Sergei Tolchenov proposed cooperation with West Kalimantan on a nuclear power plant, aluminum processing facility, and educational programs. Accompanied by Russian investors from bauxite, aluminum, and nuclear sectors, he asked the province to identify strategic partners. Rosatom (Anna Belokoneva) presented reactor technologies from 100 MW to 1,200 MW with high safety standards. Rusal (Aleksey Mirskiy) offered to invest in an aluminum processing plant and invited Governor Ria Norsan to visit Rusal facilities in Russia. Governor Ria Norsan welcomed the offers, confirming a prepared site for a nuclear power plant on Semesak Island, Bengkayang District, and openness to Russian investment.

【Rusal Announces 10% Production Cut, Yet Achieves Full-Year Production Growth in 2024】On April 28, Elena Bezdenezhnykh, Vice President of Rusal, stated in an interview with Russian media outlet Kommersant that, due to high alumina prices and external sanctions pressure, Rusal had initiated capacity optimization measures since the end of 2024, resulting in an overall 10% reduction in aluminum production. The production cuts were evenly implemented across various plants in regions such as Siberia, without closing any plants or halting production entirely. Despite announcing production cuts at the end of the year, Rusal still achieved a 3.7% YoY increase in aluminum production for the full year of 2024, with total production reaching 3.992 million mt. Alumina production also increased by 25.27% YoY, reaching 6.43 million mt. (In 2023, alumina production was 5.13 million mt, and aluminum production was 3.85 million mt.)

Russian aluminum giant Rusal achieved a 41.6% growth in adjusted net profit in the first half of the year, primarily due to the company's successful increase in production of aluminum, alumina, and other products, resulting in record-breaking exports to China. In addition to its domestic operations in Russia, the company also has a presence in Guinea, Jamaica, Ireland, and Sweden. Despite the impact of Western sanctions on Russia, Rusal was not among those targeted, and its deliveries to China reached an all-time high. In the first half of 2024, the company produced more primary aluminum and alumina than last year, with prices also experiencing an uptick. Although exchanges such as LME and CME have banned the import of metals produced in Russia, Rusal has maintained stable performance in both the Chinese and Russian markets. For the first half of this year, the company's adjusted net profit reached $446 million, representing an increase of approximately 41.6% over the same period last year.

The Russian aluminum giant Rusal reported that its adjusted net profit in the first half of the year increased by 41.6% due to the successful increase in production of aluminum, alumina, and other products, and record-high shipments to China. In the first half of this year, Rusal produced 1.96 million tons of primary aluminum and about 3 million tons of alumina, both of which were higher than the previous year.

On April 16, at the AICE 2025 SMM (20th) Aluminum Industry Conference & Aluminum Industry Expo - Main Forum , hosted by SMM Information & Technology Co., Ltd. (SMM), SMM Metal Exchange Center, and Shandong AIS Information Technology Co., Ltd., and co-organized by Zhongyifeng Jinyi (Suzhou) Technology Co., Ltd. and Lezhi County Qianrun Investment Promotion Service Co., Ltd., Inga Simonenko, Head of Marketing and Low-Carbon Solutions at Rusal, discussed "Exploring Growth Opportunities in a Challenging International Aluminum Market." Topics of great interest in the aluminum industry include the uncertainty in demand recovery due to a new round of trade tensions, the reshaping of supply chains by deglobalization, the challenge posed by the US to the decarbonization agenda, the implementation of carbon taxes, the growth of low-carbon demand, and competition with data centers for low-carbon energy. Global trade and geopolitical tensions have suppressed demand, increased logistics costs, and raised carbon footprints. Meanwhile, China's market share in aluminum semis and aluminum products in developing countries continues to grow. From the perspectives of product categories and trading partners, she introduced China's exports of aluminum products and aluminum wheels. In 2024, the construction sector remained a weak link in the growth of aluminum demand. The recovery of construction activities in regions such as Southeast Asia has become one of the opportunities for demand growth. Key influencing factors: In many developed economies, declining interest rates and persistent housing shortages will drive growth in construction activities. Infrastructure investment is shifting from transportation to utilities. To achieve climate goals, there is a renewed focus on decarbonizing the power grid. Emerging Asia will be the fastest-growing region. Strong demographic trends, significant foreign investment, and government policies will ensure that Southeast Asia has the fastest-growing construction market. Increased geopolitical uncertainty may drive up construction costs. In 2025, the power and automotive sectors will be the two key drivers of aluminum demand growth. Electric vehicles (EVs) play a significant role in driving aluminum demand growth in the automotive industry, while the growth trend in vehicle production is difficult to sustain, posing further challenges. Five major components driving aluminum usage per vehicle: electric drive housing, battery pack housing, large/mega castings, protective components, and battery cooling plates. Primary aluminum demand in developed countries has started to recover from a low base compared to the peak in 2018. As China seeks new growth points, demand in the rest of the world is accelerating. The global market will shift from balance in 2024 to shortage in 2025. The implementation of US import tariffs in 2025 has emerged as a major challenge for regional trade flows, potentially curbing the growth of aluminum demand. Additionally, Trump's reduction in funding for the decarbonization agenda will increase the cost of the US's low-carbon transition. This has hindered the net-zero transition and the growth of low-carbon aluminum demand in the US and globally. Enterprises with ESG principles are adjusting their decarbonization goals—only a minority of aluminum end-users are practicing them. It lists the revisions and progress of decarbonization goals of some well-known enterprises. Meanwhile, the establishment of regional premiums for low-carbon aluminum underscores the sustained growth in demand for low-carbon aluminum. In the foreseeable future, primary aluminum will remain the primary metal source, while the share of secondary aluminum will increase. The ceiling on China's primary aluminum capacity is accelerating the advancement of new smelting projects overseas. Aluminum smelter projects relying on high-carbon energy pose challenges to green development. At the same time, China has introduced policies to promote the low-carbon development of the aluminum industry. By 2030, the electricity required by data centers will exceed the total consumption of all aluminum smelters by 50%, and the aluminum demand for infrastructure will also increase significantly. It introduces: Data centers, like aluminum producers, require a reliable source of electricity. Led by changes in US trade and ESG policies, the aluminum industry is facing new challenges. Revisions to US trade and ESG policies: Posing challenges to overall aluminum demand, reviewing global ESG issues, reshaping supply chains, reviewing global carbon pricing, cost inflation pressures, and posing challenges to low-carbon aluminum demand. Finally, it introduces Rusal: Committed to sustainable and low-carbon aluminum development (LCA). 》Click to view the special report on the AICE 2025 SMM (20th) Aluminum Conference & Aluminum Industry Expo

European Aluminium, a member-based industry association representing Europe's aluminium value chain, commands the European Union to impose sanctions on aluminium supplied from Russia and exclude EU-based companies owned by Rusal.

From May 17 to 21, the 8th China-Russia Expo was successfully held at the Harbin International Congress and Exhibition Centre.