Wall Street reported that it expects Alcoa Inc (AA.N) to post a small fourth-quarter profit. However, optimism is tempered by concern over aluminum prices and how much the auto and aerospace industries rebounded from the recession.

The news release is quoted as saying:

Aluminum, used in automobile and plane manufacture, and for kitchen wrap and beverage cans, reached a peak of $3,380 per tonne in July 2008. But it slumped 35 percent later as the global economy went into recession and has only slowly risen. On Thursday the metal was selling in London at around $2,300. Alcoa, which will report its fourth-quarter results on Monday, has cut production and trimmed its workforce in the past year as carmakers, aerospace companies and other customers pulled back.

Click here to access the entire press release ^[1]