Record-low stock levels in US diesel markets could signal problems for the highly liquid product
BP started up its large Whiting crude unit over the weekend, leaving one CDU offline and another...
Spot gas prices in California and the US Southwest fell back to earth in Sept. 9 trading for Sept
Century to halt production at Hawesville aluminum smelter on high energy costs
Platts Steel Raw Materials Monthly
REFINERY NEWS ROUNDUP: BP restarts big Whiting crude, USWC hit by outages
Geopolitics, energy costs, shifting trade flows put Italian slab, flat steel imports in focus
Idling process to begin June 27
Company expects production to be down nine to 12 months
Century Aluminum will temporarily halt operations at its Hawesville, Kentucky, aluminum smelter for up to a year due to high global energy prices, the company said in a statement June 22.
Receive daily email alerts, subscriber notes & personalize your experience.
The smelter is expected to begin the idling process June 27. The company expects operations to remain offline for a period of nine to 12 months "until energy prices return to more normalized levels."
Century continues to explore all available options to avoid the temporary curtailment, it said.
"This unprecedented rise in global energy prices arising from the Russian war in Ukraine has dramatically increased the price of energy in the US and around the globe," Century CEO Jesse Gary said in a statement, adding that the power cost required to run the Hawesville facility had more than tripled the historical average in a short period of time. "We are confident that energy prices will moderate in the next year and believe strongly in the future prospects of the Hawesville smelter given its recent performance and the continued important role it plays in US national security."
The Hawesville smelter, Century's largest in the US, has a total rated capacity of 250,000 mt/year and is the largest producer of high purity aluminum in North America, according to the company's website.
The company does not have any current plans to idle any of its other facilities, it said.
The Platts spot US aluminum transaction premium fell to 31.95 cents/lb plus London Metal Exchange cash delivered Midwest June 21, down from 32.20 cents previously, as bearish macroeconomic factors and waning demand caused offer levels to drop, according to data from S&P Global Commodity Insights.
The market sentiment was weaker overall but some still contended that metal was tight globally and replacement costs into the US were above current levels.
To continue reading you must login or register with us.
It’s free and easy to do. Please use the button below and we will bring you back here when complete.