Russian Energy and Aluminium Products May be Exempt from Sanctions, Aluminium Futures Prices Dropped

SHANGHAI, Feb 25 (SMM) – Although the Russian-Ukraine tension is still escalating, relevant information shows that the energy and aluminium products in Russia may be exempted from the sanctions. LME aluminium and SHFE aluminium prices both rose and retreated in the trading overnight. The SHFE aluminium prices remained high above 22,700 yuan/mt. The sentiments caused fluctuations in the prices.

On the fundamentals, the supply is still tight, and overseas spot premiums are rising. China’s import window remains closed.

In the domestic spot market, the discounts shrank slightly this morning. The downstream users were wait-and-see, while the oversupply situation was alleviated. Some traders started their procurements. The discounts in east China stood at 50 yuan/mt in the morning, down 10 yuan/mt from Thursday.

Spot discounts in Gongyi stood at 160-170 yuan/mt against east China market, and at 210-220 yuan/mt against the SHFE aluminium.