Supply Crunch Sparks Fear of Aluminum Price Surge
07:20 17.03.2026 (Updated: 07:35 17.03.2026)
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Supply crunch sparks fear of aluminum price surge
“An aluminum shortage on the global market this year could lead to an increase in costs in the manufacturing sector, even though it’s too early to talk about production suspensions,” Russian expert Nikanor Khalin tells Sputnik.
“Apparent aluminum stockpiles on the market are almost 1.5 times higher than the entire annual production of the Gulf countries," he points out.
Increased competition for aluminum supplies and limitations on available volumes will impact business margins, and therefore the final cost of the metal, another Russian expert, Andrey Smirnov, says.
The global market is currently in a phase of rising geopolitical premiums and increasing logistics costs, which is reflected in higher aluminum prices, according to Smirnov.
“At the next stage, there is a high probability of a worsening shortage [of aluminum] in the Western market, since most of Asian demand is met by production capacities in China and Russia,” he underlines.
Aluminum Bahrain, one of the world's leading aluminum smelters, earlier announced that it would suspend operations at three production lines amid ongoing supply disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.
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“An aluminum shortage on the global market this year could lead to an increase in costs in the manufacturing sector, even though it’s too early to talk about production suspensions,” Russian expert Nikanor Khalin tells Sputnik.
“Apparent aluminum stockpiles on the market are almost 1.5 times higher than the entire annual production of the Gulf countries," he points out.
Increased competition for aluminum supplies and limitations on available volumes will impact business margins, and therefore the final cost of the metal, another Russian expert, Andrey Smirnov, says.
The global market is currently in a phase of rising geopolitical premiums and increasing logistics costs, which is reflected in higher aluminum prices, according to Smirnov.
“At the next stage, there is a high probability of a worsening shortage [of aluminum] in the Western market, since most of Asian demand is met by production capacities in China and Russia,” he underlines.
Aluminum Bahrain, one of the world's leading aluminum smelters, earlier announced that it would suspend operations at three production lines amid ongoing supply disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.
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