The previous year was terrible for Alcoa (AA) investors. The stock ended the year with falls of 35%. The mining sector itself had the worst year since the global financial crisis of 2008–2009 and mining companies fell to multiyear lows during the year.

Norsk Hydro (NHYDY) was among the better-performing aluminum producers in 2015 and ended the year with falls of only about 13%. This is relatively less if we look at the carnage in the metals space. Century Aluminum (CENX) saw its market capitalization erode by more than 80% during the year as you can see in the graph above. Please note that Century Aluminum is majority-owned by mining giant Glencore (GLNCY).

Investors looking for a respite from last year’s fall were in for a disappointment as Alcoa and other aluminum producers resumed their downslide right at the beginning of 2016. Alcoa has seen a downward price movement of more than 25% so far in 2016….