Tag: Midwest premium

Recycler forward views shifted toward undersupply in October even as Midwest Premium and UBC expectations moved lower.

Alcoa expects two other unnamed sites to follow the Massena East sale.

The Midwest premium could slip if Canada reroutes primary back to the US. But the balance in supply would still be coming from other countries, likely the Persian Gulf.

Recycler forward expectations swung toward oversupply in September as inventory drawdowns eased and export demand lost August’s improving responses.

US diesel prices hit a record $6 per gallon last week. That will have a forceful impact on American pocketbooks, just like higher gasoline prices are having.

A new US aluminum trade group is seeking lower costs on primary metal while backing duties on competing finished imports.

Despite our concern that last weekend's doomed US-Canada trade talks would unsettle sentiment, most markets shrugged off the impasse and instead held up fairly well.

And there certainly was no shortage of things to talk about. Tariffs, geopolitics, domestic production trends, data center construction, and scrap availability were just some of the topics getting the spotlight.

The breakdown in the US-Canada talks underscores one of the least talked about problems with tariffs. Imposing them is relatively easy (provided they are not overturned by the courts). But when it comes to removing them? A number of industries have grown accustomed to the protection tariffs afford. They will fight tooth and nail to keep them in place. Politicians usually buckle under this backlash, and we suspect this is what happened here.

Century Aluminum completed its Mt. Holly restart in Q2, but shipments remained nearly flat as added production moves into the second half.