(Bloomberg) — Aluminum ticked higher, with the European Union considering import restrictions on Russian metal and Chinese production growth expected to slow.
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The metal climbed toward $2,600 a ton in London, gaining as much as 0.7%. The EU is weighing curbs on Russian aluminum, along with measures against other commodities, as part of a new package of sanctions targeting Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine, according to people familiar with the matter. The potential restrictions could be gradual, with the scope still to be determined.
Russian aluminum shipments to Europe have already fallen due to widespread self-sanctioning by manufacturers since the start of the war, and a gradual reordering of global supply chains. More supplies have come to China instead, with the country more than doubling imports of Russian metal to more than 1 million tons a year in the past two years from 2022.
The additional impact on trade volumes being re-routed “could be very limited” given the market has already adjusted, said Gao Yin, an analyst at Shuohe Asset Management Co. “The market isn’t in urgent need of Russian aluminum.”
In China, the aluminum industry is approaching an inflection point this year as limits on capacity are set to slow production growth, leaving less metal available for export and supporting prices, according to researcher Shanghai Metals Market. The country is the world’s largest supplier.
Aluminum traded 0.2% higher at $2,564 a ton on the London Metal Exchange at 10:39 a.m. in Shanghai. Other metals were all lower, with zinc and copper down 0.4% and 0.3%, respectively.
Iron ore in Singapore rose 0.2% to $100.40 a ton, while contracts in Dalian were flat.
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