As prices continued to rise, demand in several global markets, especially Southeast Asia and India, fell short of expectations even outside traditional off-season periods. Rising prices for aluminium, scrap, and related products suppressed end-user consumption, leaving upstream, midstream, and downstream players caught in a dilemma of “hard to buy, hard to sell.” Against this backdrop, and with the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) set to take effect in 2026, market attention on the trajectory of LME aluminium prices 2026 has intensified.
According to reports from multiple overseas institutions and SMM research, the main international perspectives on aluminium’s structural outlook can be summarised as follows:
