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Aluminum is one of the most abundant metals in the world, often mined from bauxite ore. The main end users of base metals include the following sectors: transportation and construction. Together, these two sectors account for almost half of the market. Guinea, Australia and Vietnam are considered to be the countries with the largest bauxite reserves, while China leads in the proportion of aluminum smelting production.

After China decided not to provide targeted stimulus injections, aluminum futures dropped to $2,625 per tonne from the five-month high of $2,710 reached on November 8th, following the drop in other base metals. Markets lowered their expectations of more aggressive measures that would boost manufacturing demand after China announced a $1.4 trillion package for local governments to exchange off-balance sheet debt with Beijing and help them access better financing. However, China did not specifically target flows to stimulate consumption. Despite this, aluminum outperformed other base metals throughout the year as producers' input costs were reduced due to an alumina supply issue. Meanwhile, Guinea banned Emirates Global Aluminum's shipments from the nation, pushing bauxite prices closer to a record high. In addition to lowering bauxite production from Australia and Jamaica, the world's largest miner's suspension forced Chinese smelters to cut back on their supplies, bringing ore inventories down to their lowest level since 2015.

In terms of demand, the main aluminum markets include China, the United States, Germany, India and Japan. The aluminum market is assessed to reach USD 112 billion by 2021 and is expected to reach a CAGR of over 6% during the forecast period 2022-2027. The Asia-Pacific region is expected to be the largest aluminum consuming market during the forecast period.