Aluminium foundry premiums in Europe were under pressure this month from weak demand and the removal of US sanctions against Russian producer UC Rusal, but the premium in the United States remained firm.
The premium in Eastern Europe for silicon 7 aluminium wheels on a delivered-duty-paid basis dropped 5% to its lowest level since monthly assessments began in 2017. Fastmarkets assessed the Eastern European foundry alloy premium at $360-380 per tonne on Friday February 8, down from $370-410 per tonne on January 11.Weak demand in the automotive sector, traders sitting on the sidelines and the removal of sanctions against Rusal by the US Department of the Treasury on January 27 have put bearish pressure on the premium. The sanctions had been in place for nearly 10 months."Rusal coming back into the market is nothing but damaging to the premiums. Demand is not great and we will have even more supply available to us," a European trader said.Said a second trader: "Everyone knew Rusal's sanctions would be lifted...