Aluminum Price in 2018

In 2018, the price of aluminum averaged $2,108 per tonne, up 7.1% from the year before. This page covers the 2018 average, high, low, and year-end close, the events that moved the market, and what that aluminum would be worth in today's dollars.

2018 Average

$2,108

LME annual average, USD/tonne

Change vs 2017

+7.1%

from $1,968 in 2017

What happened to the aluminum price in 2018

Aluminum averaged $2,108 per tonne in 2018, up 7.1% from $1,968 the year before. The notable development of 2018: US sanctions on Rusal spike intra-year.

Chronic Chinese oversupply kept aluminum range-bound through the 2010s, mostly between $1,600 and $2,400, with a brief 2018 spike on US sanctions against Rusal.

Adjusted for inflation, aluminum's 2018 average of $2,108 equals about $2,706 in today's dollars. The conversion uses US Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U annual averages, so treat it as a close approximation rather than an exact figure.

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the price of aluminum in 2018?

Aluminum averaged $2,108 per tonne in 2018, based on World Bank and LME annual average data. That average was up 7.1% from $1,968 in 2017.

What is a 2018 aluminum price worth in today's dollars?

Adjusted with the US Consumer Price Index, aluminum's 2018 average of $2,108 works out to roughly $2,706 in today's dollars, using 2025 as the CPI base year. The conversion uses BLS CPI-U annual averages, so treat it as a close approximation rather than an exact figure.

What moved the aluminum price in 2018?

The defining story of 2018: US sanctions on Rusal spike intra-year. Against that backdrop, the annual average climbed 7.1%, from $1,968 in 2017 to $2,108.

Annual averages are World Bank and LME aluminum prices per tonne in US dollars (LME cash and settlement basis). Values before the LME aluminium contract launched in October 1978 are producer and list-price proxies, and the 2025 figure is preliminary. Where daily data exists, the per-year high, low, and close come from MetalCharts historical data. Inflation adjustments use BLS CPI-U annual averages.