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Soaring Aluminum Drives Up Cost of Everything From Beer to Foil

For consumers and economists hoping commodities inflation will soon subside, the aluminum market delivered some discouraging news on Monday.
Bloomberg
By Bloomberg
3 Aug
Beer Production And Bottling At A Heineken NV Brewery Boxes containing bottles of Heinken beer travel along a production line on Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2015. (Photo: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The world’s second-largest brewer, Heineken NV, said the rising costs of freight and the metal used in beer cans will have a “material effect” on profit next year. Reynolds Consumer Products Inc., the maker of the iconic Reynolds Wrap, said it’s facing costs of about $400 million this year driven in large part by aluminum and resin.The announcements come on the heels of a more than 30% gain in benchmark aluminum prices so far this year, with the metal on Monday approaching a decade high. The warnings are the latest in a host of cautionary signals from companies that underscore the potentially far-reaching impact of the surge in commodities from corn to steel.

Consumer-goods producers see effects of rising aluminum prices on profit

Further dimming prospects for a break from elevated aluminum prices is that years-long supply gluts are beginning to fade, with demand for low-carbon energy sources boosting demand for the lightweight material and top producer China cracking down on polluting industries such as metals producers. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is forecasting record prices above $3,000 a ton by late next year.

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Biff Trotters 3 August 2021 06:00 PM

I'm surprised to see Aluminum sold on the London Metal E[x]change.