Home/Aluminium products/Aluminium price centre
Market reference
Aluminium price centre
Where the metal price comes from, how premiums and conversion sit on top of it, and what a tonne of coil or foil actually costs this week. Daily benchmark data, six months of history, no registration.
Aluminium benchmark · USD / tonne
▼ 2.82% vs previous close
COMEX aluminium futures (ALI=F), close of 22 Oct 2026. Public market data, indicative only.
Benchmark, chart and history
One benchmark, one chart, no clutter. The table below lists the last twelve sessions so you can see where the market has actually been, not just where it is today.
Trend
Daily settlement, USD per tonne
Hover the line for the closing value on any session. Figures are indicative closing prices in USD per tonne and are not a quotation.
At a glance
Reference figures for buyers
Data: COMEX ALI=F & USD/CNY, 22 Oct 2026. Public market data, updated manually each session. For the official LME cash settlement used in contracts, see lme.com.
Recent sessions
Last twelve closes, with day-on-day change
| Date | Close (USD/t) | Change | 7-day average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Oct 2026 | 3,214.25 | ▼ 0.73% | 3,240.86 |
| 8 Oct 2026 | 3,153.75 | ▼ 1.88% | 3,217.04 |
| 9 Oct 2026 | 3,180.00 | ▲ 0.83% | 3,202.04 |
| 12 Oct 2026 | 3,134.25 | ▼ 1.44% | 3,192.93 |
| 13 Oct 2026 | 3,127.75 | ▼ 0.21% | 3,183.79 |
| 14 Oct 2026 | 3,086.25 | ▼ 1.33% | 3,162.04 |
| 15 Oct 2026 | 3,096.50 | ▲ 0.33% | 3,141.82 |
| 16 Oct 2026 | 3,113.25 | ▲ 0.54% | 3,127.39 |
| 19 Oct 2026 | 3,148.50 | ▲ 1.13% | 3,126.64 |
| 20 Oct 2026 | 3,109.00 | ▼ 1.25% | 3,116.50 |
| 21 Oct 2026 | 3,177.75 | ▲ 2.21% | 3,122.71 |
| 22 Oct 2026 | 3,088.00 | ▼ 2.82% | 3,117.04 |
How a coil price is actually built
The chart is the smallest part of the invoice. What you pay is the metal, plus a regional premium, plus conversion. Buyers who understand the three lines negotiate better on all three.
Benchmark settlement
The metal value is the benchmark price at the agreed pricing date, multiplied by the metal content of the order. A one-tonne coil is roughly one tonne of metal; coating, paper interleaving and packaging sit in the conversion line, not here.
- LME cash settlement, or an agreed monthly average
- Pricing date fixed at order, shipment or arrival
- Copper and magnesium additions for some alloys
Regional premium
Metal delivered to Rotterdam, the US Midwest or an Asian port carries a premium over the benchmark. It covers freight, duty, insurance and the cost of holding metal in the region you buy from.
- Duty-paid or duty-unpaid basis
- Quoted per tonne, fixed for a quarter or a year
- Depends on port, incoterm and payment terms
Rolling, coating, packing
Converting cast slab into 0.02–3.00 mm coil or sheet: rolling passes, annealing, slitting, coating, laminating, protective film, edge trim and export packing. This is the line where alloy, temper and surface finish show up.
- Gauge, width and temper change the cost
- Coating type and dry-film weight add per m²
- Small lots carry a higher per-tonne share
Worked example only. Premium and conversion vary by alloy, temper, coating, quantity and destination. Your quotation supersedes any figure on this page.
Estimate your order
Enter the three components and the order weight. The result is an indicative material cost, not a quotation.
Indicative material cost
$0
per tonne
Excludes freight, duty, tooling and payment terms. Coated and laminated surfaces are quoted on the actual specification.
What moves the number
Aluminium is electricity solidified. Four forces explain most of the swings in the chart above, and most of the questions we get from buyers.
Power and smelter economics
Smelting takes around 13–15 MWh per tonne. When European or Chinese power prices spike, marginal smelter capacity closes and the curve reacts before the metal is ever shipped.
Alumina and bauxite supply
Alumina is the feedstock. Disruptions in Guinea, Australia or China move alumina first, then primary aluminium with a lag of weeks — often the earliest warning signal in the chain.
Currency and freight
Metal is priced in dollars. A stronger dollar raises the local cost for euro, sterling and real buyers, and freight volatility shifts the delivered premium faster than the benchmark itself.
Duty and regional balance
Anti-dumping measures, tariffs and regional stock levels decouple local prices from the global benchmark. Two buyers can pay different prices for the same tonne in the same week.
How we quote, and what we can lock
If your project has a budget, price exposure is a specification problem as much as a commercial one. These are the three structures we work with most often.
7-day quotation
Standard quotations are valid for seven days from issue, based on the benchmark on the day of quoting. Longer validity is available against a confirmed deposit.
Fixed price from 5 tonnes
For orders from five tonnes we can fix metal, premium and conversion for a defined delivery window — useful for tender pricing and retail programmes.
Index-linked contracts
Annual or quarterly agreements priced as benchmark plus fixed premium and conversion, so both sides share the metal movement transparently.
Buyer questions, answered plainly
Is this the LME aluminium price?
The chart shows a publicly quoted aluminium futures benchmark in USD per tonne, refreshed from public market data. LME official cash settlement is published by the London Metal Exchange and is the reference used in most physical contracts; we quote against it plus the applicable premium.
Treat the figures here as orientation, not as a contractual settlement price.
Why is my quotation higher than the chart?
Because the chart is only the metal. A delivered coil price adds the regional premium, conversion (rolling, annealing, coating, slitting, packing) and inland freight. On thin coated material, conversion can be a quarter or more of the invoice.
How often is this page updated?
The dataset is refreshed as sessions close and reviewed by our sales desk. When the market moves sharply intraday, ask for a live figure on WhatsApp rather than relying on the last close.
Can you hold a price while we approve the project?
Yes, within limits. We can hold a quotation for up to seven days as standard, and longer for orders with a deposit. Beyond that we re-price against the benchmark of the day, which protects both sides from a one-sided bet.
Do you price per kilogram or per tonne?
Metal and conversion are calculated per tonne, then converted to per kilogram, per square metre or per coil for the quotation. Density varies by alloy, so a per-square-metre price always states the gauge and alloy it assumes.
Need today’s price for your specification?
Send the alloy, temper, thickness, width and quantity. You will get a quotation with the benchmark date, premium basis and conversion stated separately, so you can see exactly what you are paying for.
Data source: daily closing values for the COMEX aluminium futures contract and USD/CNY, retrieved from public market data on 22 Oct 2026. Figures are indicative, delayed and provided for information only; they are not investment advice and do not constitute an offer. Official LME prices are published by the London Metal Exchange. Page reviewed October 2026.