Rising power costs in Europe have resulted in reduced output at Europe’s largest aluminum smelter. Though many aluminum smelters operate on long-term power contracts, spot prices do impact costs for many mills. Most aluminum plants, especially those using in-house generated power, suffered losses from late October to November due to surging electricity costs and high prices for raw and auxiliary materials. As our colleague Fouad Egbaria noted this week , rising power costs in Europe, almost wholly down to the cost of natural gas, resulted in reduced output at Europe’s largest aluminum smelter, Aluminium Dunkerque Industries France . Losses there ballooned to €20 million ($22 million) during November, as natural gas prices quadrupled this year. Most aluminum smelters operate on long-term power contracts. However, spot prices do impact costs for many mills, either with contracts linked to spot prices or when contracts come up for periodic adjustment when the […]