Morning Bites (part 1)

🏭 Aluminium plants in the UAE and Bahrain were damaged on 28 March, amid the escalation of conflict in the Middle East, Bloomberg reports, citing statements made by the companies involved. Specifically, EMAL (UAE, ~2% of global primary Al production) and Alba (Bahrain, ~2%) operations were affected, but the scale of damage is still being assessed. We also recap that Qatalum (Qatar, ~1%) was expected to suspend production by end-March due to gas shortages

On our numbers, the Gulf countries jointly accounted for ~9% of global Al supply in 2025, so continuous production disruptions are likely to add further support to aluminium market fundamentals, along with strong consumption dynamics globally. Specifically, Japan 2Q26 aluminium premia already increased ~80% QoQ to ~350 USD/t, reaching the 11-year highs

#aluminium