🚀 Aluminum Breaks $3,000: Prices Hit 3.5-Year High
Aluminum is officially on a tear, surging past $3,000 per tonne to reach levels not seen since April 2022. A combination of trade policy shifts and supply bottlenecks has created a "perfect storm" for the metal.
The Three Main Drivers:
The "Hard Ceiling" in China: The world’s top producer has hit its strict 45-million-tonne capacity cap, limiting global supply as domestic demand grows.
Trade Barriers: New U.S. tariffs and the EU’s carbon-border taxes (CBAM) are making imports more expensive and driving up local premiums.
The Green Transition: Massive demand from EV manufacturers and solar grid projects is outpacing current production rates.
What to Watch:
As copper prices also hit records, aluminum is increasingly being used as a substitute in wiring, further tightening the market. Analysts expect this deficit to persist throughout 2026, keeping prices elevated for the foreseeable future.