Summary
- The benchmark peaked in 2022. The World Bank's annual average LME aluminium price rose from $1,604 per tonne in 2016 to $2,705 in 2022, fell to $2,256 in 2023 and was $2,632 in 2025.
- Unwrought aluminium is imported at or above the LME price. Nine large importers declared between 91% and 129% of the annual LME average in 2017 to 2025, with the United States at 112% to 129% and Japan at 99% to 106%.
- China turned into a metal importer: 186 to 291 thousand tonnes a year in 2017 to 2019 and 3.55 million tonnes in 2025, 63% of it from Russia, at 91% to 99% of LME.
- China's bauxite imports tripled, from 68.5 million tonnes in 2017 to 201.2 million tonnes in 2025. Guinea supplied 40% of the 2017 total and 74% of the 2025 total.
- Alumina follows Alcoa's price: declared prices for Canada, Norway, Iceland and Malaysia ran at 90% to 121% of Alcoa's average realised price in the years that passed the checks.
- The three products are not comparable per tonne: China declared $79 for bauxite, $541 for alumina and $2,539 for unwrought aluminium in 2025.
Bauxite, alumina and aluminium are different products, so their prices per tonne are not comparable. The report explains this and the other limits.
What is in the full report
6 pages, as a PDF.
- The LME benchmark for 2016 to 2025 and Alcoa's realised alumina price, with year-on-year changes and a chart
- Unwrought aluminium import prices for nine importers, each as a share of LME, and import quantities
- Alumina import prices for eight importers
- Bauxite import prices and quantities, and China's bauxite supply by origin
- The data limits and which figures were excluded, and why