Aluminum Price History
As of November 13, 2026, the aluminum price is $3,010.32 per metric ton, down 0.27% over the past 24 hours. The price is quoted in US dollars per metric ton and updates continuously as London Metal Exchange futures and over-the-counter markets trade.
From the late-1980s squeeze to the 2008 supercycle peak and the 2022 record near $4,073 per tonne, aluminum's price tracks energy costs, Chinese supply, and global trade policy.
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Price Chart
Embed24h Change
24h Range
$2,977.70 to $3,015.37Est. dealer bid/ask
$3,008.06 / $3,012.57All-Time High
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Aluminum Price Records
Aluminum's major price peaks and the all-time high that still stands. Prices are LME, USD per tonne.
All-Time High
~$4,073
March 7, 2022 (LME 3-month intraday; series differ (front-month ~$4,103, cash settle ~$3,985))
| Date | High (USD/tonne) | What Drove It |
|---|---|---|
| Jun 1988 | ~$3,200 | A late-1980s supply squeeze from permanent capacity closures, depleted inventories, and booming demand set the first major nominal peak, which stood for decades. |
| Jul 2008 | ~$3,380 | The pre-financial-crisis commodity supercycle peaked on surging Chinese demand and high energy costs, before a 50%-plus crash into early 2009. |
| Mar 7, 2022Record | ~$4,073 | Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Europe's energy crisis threatened power-hungry smelters and Russian metal flows, driving aluminum to its all-time high. |
| Jun 2026 | ~$3,750 | Sustained 50% US Section 232 tariffs and West Asia supply disruptions pushed prices to their highest since 2022, but still below the record, before a late-June pullback. |
The exact record is series-dependent (front-month, cash, and 3-month bases differ). Despite the 2025-2026 tariff and supply shocks, no new all-time high was set; the March 2022 peak still stands. Prices are nominal USD per tonne.
Data Methodology
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Aluminum Price by Year (1970 to 2025)
LME annual average price per tonne in USD. Click any year for that year's full breakdown.
| Year | Avg Price (USD/tonne) | YoY Change | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s: Inflation Era & Commodity Booms | ||||
| 1970 Producer list-price proxy: the LME aluminium contract didn't launch until October 1978. | $614 | n/a | ||
| 1971 | $628 | +2.3% | ||
| 1972 | $590 | -6.1% | ||
| 1973 | $599 | +1.5% | ||
| 1974 Oil-shock inflation lifts metal prices | $765 | +27.7% | ||
| 1975 | $868 | +13.5% | ||
| 1976 | $890 | +2.5% | ||
| 1977 | $1,144 | +28.5% | ||
| 1978 LME launches its high-grade primary aluminium contract in October The annual figure is still mostly based on producer prices. | $1,325 | +15.8% | ||
| 1979 First full year with an LME cash quote. | $1,603 | +21.0% | ||
| 1980s: Recession & Disinflation | ||||
| 1980 | $1,775 | +10.7% | ||
| 1981 | $1,263 | -28.8% | ||
| 1982 Global recession low | $992 | -21.5% | ||
| 1983 | $1,438 | +45.0% | ||
| 1984 | $1,251 | -13.0% | ||
| 1985 | $1,041 | -16.8% | ||
| 1986 | $1,150 | +10.5% | ||
| 1987 | $1,565 | +36.1% | ||
| 1988 Late-1980s supply-shortage spike | $2,550 | +62.9% | ||
| 1989 | $1,951 | -23.5% | ||
| 1990s: Oversupply & the Asian Crisis | ||||
| 1990 | $1,639 | -16.0% | ||
| 1991 | $1,302 | -20.6% | ||
| 1992 | $1,254 | -3.7% | ||
| 1993 Post-Soviet metal glut, cyclical low | $1,139 | -9.2% | ||
| 1994 | $1,477 | +29.7% | ||
| 1995 | $1,806 | +22.3% | ||
| 1996 | $1,506 | -16.6% | ||
| 1997 | $1,599 | +6.2% | ||
| 1998 Asian financial crisis weakness | $1,357 | -15.1% | ||
| 1999 | $1,361 | +0.3% | ||
| 2000s: China Supercycle & the 2008 Crash | ||||
| 2000 | $1,549 | +13.8% | ||
| 2001 | $1,444 | -6.8% | ||
| 2002 | $1,350 | -6.5% | ||
| 2003 | $1,431 | +6.0% | ||
| 2004 Start of China-driven commodity supercycle | $1,716 | +19.9% | ||
| 2005 | $1,898 | +10.6% | ||
| 2006 | $2,570 | +35.4% | ||
| 2007 | $2,638 | +2.6% | ||
| 2008 Pre-crisis peak | $2,573 | -2.5% | ||
| 2009 Global financial crisis crash | $1,665 | -35.3% | ||
| 2010s: Post-Crisis Range & China Slowdown | ||||
| 2010 | $2,173 | +30.5% | ||
| 2011 | $2,401 | +10.5% | ||
| 2012 | $2,023 | -15.7% | ||
| 2013 | $1,847 | -8.7% | ||
| 2014 | $1,867 | +1.1% | ||
| 2015 | $1,665 | -10.8% | ||
| 2016 Cyclical low amid oversupply concerns | $1,604 | -3.7% | ||
| 2017 | $1,968 | +22.7% | ||
| 2018 US sanctions on Rusal spike intra-year | $2,108 | +7.1% | ||
| 2019 | $1,794 | -14.9% | ||
| 2020s: COVID, Energy Crisis & Supply Shocks | ||||
| 2020 COVID-19 demand shock low | $1,704 | -5.0% | ||
| 2021 Post-pandemic energy-cost rebound | $2,473 | +45.1% | ||
| 2022 Record intraday high near $4,073 in March after Russia invades Ukraine | $2,705 | +9.4% | ||
| 2023 | $2,256 | -16.6% | ||
| 2024 | $2,419 | +7.2% | ||
| 2025 Full-year average from the World Bank's January 2026 update. | $2,632 | +8.8% | ||
Aluminum Price Through the Decades
Aluminum spent most of its modern history as one of the cheaper base metals, but it has moved through several violent boom-bust cycles. A tight market in 1987 and 1988, driven by capacity closures and low inventories, produced the first major spike above $3,200 per tonne, a nominal record that stood for decades. After years of range-bound trade, the pre-financial-crisis commodity supercycle drove prices to roughly $3,380 per tonne in July 2008 on surging Chinese demand and high energy costs. That peak collapsed by more than half into early 2009, and aluminum spent the 2010s mostly stuck between about $1,500 and $2,800 amid chronic Chinese oversupply.
The defining episode came in 2022. A post-COVID demand recovery collided with Europe's energy crisis, which threatened power-intensive smelters, and then Russia's invasion of Ukraine raised fears over Russian metal supply. LME aluminum spiked to roughly $4,073 per tonne intraday on March 7, 2022, its all-time high. The rally reversed sharply, and by 2023 and 2024 prices had settled back into a range capped below about $2,500 per tonne.
The 2025 to 2026 era was reshaped by US trade policy and Middle East supply risk. US Section 232 tariffs on aluminum doubled to 50% in June 2025, lifting US premiums and pulling LME prices higher. In 2026, prolonged West Asia supply disruptions opened a forecast global deficit and pushed prices to about $3,750 per tonne in early June, the strongest level since 2022 but still short of the record, before a pullback toward $3,200 on hopes of resumed Gulf exports and rising Chinese and Indonesian output. See the live chart above for the current price.
Data provided by MetalCharts, a free precious metals tracking platform offering real-time prices, interactive charts, historical data, and portfolio tools for gold, silver, platinum, palladium, and copper. Prices sourced from major global exchanges including COMEX, LBMA, and LME, updated continuously during market hours.
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