6 March 2025 – Physical US aluminum premiums have risen by more than 60% since the beginning of 2025 and have recently broken a new record. Aluminum prices on SHFE and LME up again. Chinese stock markets jump upwards. And EU steel mills are buying up sanctioned Russian pig iron quota.
US aluminum premiums rise to record high
Physical US aluminum premiums have risen by more than 60% since the beginning of 2025 and recently broke through the record level of USD 0.4/lb. Analysts currently expect premiums to rise even further in order to fully compensate for the 25% aluminum tariffs that will take effect on March 12, 2025.
As the United States cannot cover its aluminum demand with its own production capacities, the domestic industry is absolutely dependent on aluminum imports.
Aluminum prices continue their upward trend
Prices for aluminum on the SHFE commodities exchange rose by 1.26% today, reaching their highest level in 2025. Prices on the LME were also friendly at the start of trading today and aluminum improved by a good 0.7%. Since the beginning of the week, LME aluminum prices have thus gained a good 2.6%.
Chinese share indices rise
Asian markets were in a particularly buoyant mood today after the Chinese government announced new fiscal policy measures to boost domestic demand.
The Hang Seng Index rose by more than 3%, the Shanghai Composite by around 1.2% and the Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 by almost 1.4%. Other Asian stock markets also reacted positively to the Chinese news, but also to the announcement that US President Trump has postponed the introduction of some auto tariffs for the time being at the urging of several US car manufacturers.
EU steel mills buy Russian pig iron quota empty
As European Union data shows, EU steel mills have filled the annual quota for sanctioned Russian pig iron imports in less than two months.
While the EU steel processing downstream industry has been cut off from Russian imports (e.g. flat rolled steel products) by extensive sanctions, domestic steel mills enjoy extensive exemptions on pig iron and steel slabs and continue to import millions of tons of Russian steel products.
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