Aluminium premiums hold while participants in Italy brace for potential major disruptions

Aluminium ingot and billet premiums in Italy held steady this week, but market participants there are bracing for major logistical disruptions because of the country's efforts to contain the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak.

Italy is one of the hardest hit European nations, with more than 10,000 cases and more than 600 deaths as of Tuesday March 10 and the country has introduced emergency measures, including  travel restrictions and the banning of public gatherings, in a bid to stem the growth of infections in the country.
The country is also the second-largest aluminium market in Europe, consuming around 950 million tonnes in 2018, according to the World Bureau of Metal Statistics (WBMS). 
It is home to two major European hubs for aluminium distribution: the port of Genoa on the northwest coast; and Italy's easternmost port in the north, Trieste.
Hiccups, but still running
Despite the restrictive measures, the industry continues to operate.

Sources said the Italian government had clarified to companies that goods may enter and leave the territories throughout Italy and the...

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