Yesterday, the daily market bulletin of Icelandic bank Íslandsbanki included a discussion of the Icelandic Króna, ISK, and the possibility of further heavy-industry projects in Iceland. Íslandsbanki attributes the reversal of the ISK’s recent slide to expectations that some of the projects now being aired will come to fruit.
In addition to whale-watching town Húsavík (pop. 2,500) and US aluminum conglomerate Alcoa (market cap. USD 25 billion), several other new candidates have entered the fray. BHP-Billton, Russal, Rio-Tinto and Norðurál have all expressed interest in building a new smelter in the North of Iceland; and Norðurál is also in discussions with the municipality of Reykjanesbær and the geothermal utility of Suðurnes, Hitaveita Suðurnesja, to construct a new smelter in Helguvík, close to the international airport in Keflavík.
The bulletin also predicts a record current account imbalance for the month of April. The figures will be released this coming Friday.
