Participants in the European physical aluminium market were offering higher premiums on Wednesday January 16 on renewed concern about whether the United States will remove its sanctions on Russian aluminium producer UC Rusal.
US senators moved forward a resolution on January 15 to prevent the US Treasury from removing the sanctions on Rusal, although this resolution could still face a final vote in the Senate.The Senate voted 57-42 to advance the resolution for debate. In that vote, 11 Republican Party senators, from the same party as President Donald Trump, voted against the removal of sanctions.Following that vote, 60 senators must now vote on whether the resolution will go to a final vote on the Senate floor.Steny Hoyer, who is the majority leader of the US government's lower House of Representatives, and is himself from the opposition Democratic Party, said on Tuesday that he will introduce a similar resolution in the House.The resolution that would maintain the sanctions would need to be passed by both the House and...