Stubbornly low aluminum prices may have finally reached a bottom thanks to strong fundamentals and increased demand from the U.S. automotive market, Klaus Kleinfeld, CEO of aluminum giant Alcoa, told CNBC's "Closing Bell."
"I tend to believe we're seeing a low at this point," Kleinfeld said, adding he's only speculating on where the metal's price might be headed, but a strong U.S. auto market gives him reason to be optimistic.
"The automotive market in general here in North America is strong and at the same time, for aluminum, we see that, we see demand on auto sheet quadrupling in the next three years and then another, the next ten years, another two-and-a-half times growth," Kleinfeld said.
Currently, the metal's price remains near two-year lows. In turn, analysts had expected a dismal second-quarter earnings season for the U.S. aluminum producer. But Alcoa, always one of the first large companies to report, beat on both earnings and revenue.
(Read More: Alcoa Kicks Off Earnings Season With a Beat)
Earnings excluding items rose to 7 cents a share from 6 cents a share in the year-earlier period.
Revenue decreased to $5.85 billion from $5.96 billion a year ago.
After the earnings announcement, the company's shares gained in extended-hours trading. (Click here to get latest quote.)