17 April 2026 – Recycling Europe sharply criticises EU trade policy on aluminium scrap. Nickel prices at the London Metal Exchange (LME) have gained over $1,000 per tonne in a week. European stainless steel: order books full, prices rising.
Nickel on the Rise
Nickel prices at the London Metal Exchange (LME) have gained more than $1,000 per tonne within a week. The drivers: tight nickel ore supply and revised calculation methods for Indonesian benchmark prices. On Friday, nickel opened with further gains – last trading above $18,500 per tonne.
Nickel futures on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) also moved higher, closing up around 1.5 percent. Copper and aluminium likewise advanced in Asia this week – by 3.8 and 3.3 percent respectively.
European Stainless Steel: Order Books Full, Prices Climbing
According to current market reports, European stainless steel producers have already closed their order books for June – a clear sign of high capacity utilisation. The result: stainless steel prices continue to rise. Additional pressure comes from the tight availability of stainless steel scrap on the European market.
Europe’s Aluminium Paradox: Scrap Must Stay, Products May Leave
A glaring contradiction sits at the heart of EU trade policy: European foundries export aluminium billets and ingots without restriction – while Brussels simultaneously debates export controls on aluminium scrap, the very raw material those products are made from.
Sharp Criticism from the Recycling Industry
Recycling Europe has called out this double standard in a recent statement. Aluminium scrap is considered a critical raw material for Europe’s strategic autonomy. But that autonomy cannot be secured through bans, as long as the finished product is free to leave the EU.
The root cause is structural: high energy costs and poor policy conditions are pushing production and demand out of Europe. Knee-jerk trade measures change nothing – they primarily hurt the domestic downstream industry. The only effective lever remains affordable energy. Not bans.
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