Primary aluminum in the Gulf tumbled in April to its weakest in more than a decade due to the impact of the Iran war on smelters in the region, the International Aluminium Institute (IAI) said on Wednesday.
Production in the Gulf was 330,000 metric tons last month, down 35% from the same month in 2025, according to preliminary IAI data. The region accounts for about 8% of global primary aluminum production, but supplies 28% of Japanese imports and 21% of US imports.
“What we are seeing in April’s numbers is probably not the floor, it is a further deterioration that brings Gulf output to levels not seen in over a decade,” said IAI Secretary General Jonathan Grant.
“The region’s smelters cannot replenish raw material stocks through the Strait of Hormuz and are trying alternate land routes to keep operating.”
