Aluminium Market Drivers; Will they Steer a Winning or Losing Future for the Metal?

Since aluminium is a commodity and is being traded globally, its destiny is very much dependable on the economic conditions of the world, especially in today's situation where there's a continuing threat of a Deep Recession . Therefore, indices like dollar/euro fluctuations, bank interest rates, powerful economies' GDPs and their macroeconomic factors influence this metal's fate and prices, as well as other basic metals. Besides general business atmosphere of the world, other drivers leading aluminium's market through a more direct approach include balance between production and demand (raw material and ingot) and its price structure, applications and substitution potentials, its energy-intensity and recyclability. In this paper we are going to discuss which of the above drivers or characteristics could most probably draw a booming or gloomy future for aluminium. A special focus would be given on aluminium's abilities or faults to become a dominant metal to be chosen by tomorrow's industrialists over other competitors like Steel and Carbon fiber reinforced plastics for uses in its big customers; automotive and aerospace.

Keywords:

aluminium , economy , market drivers , price , future , automotive , aerospace