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The US physical aluminum premium drops 7% due to tariff cuts
Metal industry sources reported that premiums for customers buying aluminum on the physical market of the United States dropped by more than 7% Wednesday, as traders speculated on possible reductions in U.S. tariffs on Canadian shipments. Mark Carney, the Canadian Prime Minister, said that he and President Donald Trump agreed that they should work together to conclude a new security and economic deal within 30 day. The price of aluminium sold on the physical market is the same as the London Metal Exchange, plus a premium for the physical market that covers freight and taxes. Trump doubled the aluminium import tariffs from 4 June to 50% in order to encourage investment in domestic production. Metals are used in transport, packaging and the construction industry. The U.S. Midwest duty paid aluminium premium at COMEX dropped to 55 U.S. Cents per lb, or $1,212 for a ton of aluminum, down from 59.34cents on Tuesday. On June 6, it reached a record price of 62.50 US cents, a 190% increase since Trump's second term election in November. Aluminium industry sources claim that the Midwest still has a premium compared to historical norms and that premiums along a maturity curve indicate the market believes that tariffs on aluminum imports will continue at some level. The United States imports about half of its aluminium, the majority of which comes from Canada. In fact, Canada exported 3.2 millions tons of aluminum to the United States in 2013. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the United States produced over 4 million tonnes of aluminum last year. Most of this was recycled material. LME Aluminium was trading at around $2,550 per ton.
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Gold prices remain stable ahead of Fed's decision; platinum soars to a 4-year high
The gold price was little changed Wednesday, as investors waited to hear the Federal Reserve's decision on policy and Jerome Powell's comments. Platinum surged at a four-year high. By 1013 am EDT (1413 GMT), spot gold had fallen 0.1%, to $3386.10 per ounce. U.S. Gold Futures dropped 0.1% to $3.403.50. Marex analyst Edward Meir stated that the markets are currently trading sideways as everyone awaits the Fed's decision, and developments in the Middle East. Iran's Supreme leader Ayatollah Alyatollah Khamenei has rejected the demand of U.S. president Donald Trump for unconditional surrender. Iranians are jamming the highways to flee from the intensified Israeli airstrikes. The Fed will announce its policy announcement at 2 p.m. ET (1800 GMT) and is expected to maintain interest rates as they are. Investors will closely monitor Powell's remarks for clues about the central bank's next course of action. Trump criticized Powell for the decision he had expected to be made not to lower the interest rate and said that the man he placed in the position during his last term did a poor job. Gold is more appealing because of geopolitical tensions, and low interest rates. Prices lost momentum on Monday after reaching a session peak of $3,451.04, which was close to a record high set in April. Goldman Sachs stated in a report that investors are looking for opportunities to catch up. It added: "In our opinion, the recent platinum and silver rallies were primarily speculative in nature and lacked fundamental support." Spot silver fell 0.8% to $36,95 an ounce after hitting its highest level since Feb 2012 earlier. Platinum increased 3.1% to $1.302.17, the highest level since February 2021. The high price of the gold has slowed down Chinese demand for gold jewellery and there is high hope that platinum can be a substitute. If demand in May remains high or increases, then platinum prices will rise; if the April spike was an anomaly, expect a sharp drop, said Tai Wong. Palladium prices were flat in other places at $1,052.25 Reporting by Ashitha and Sarah Shivaprasad from Bengaluru. Jane Merriman edited the article.
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The US Supreme Court sides up with the federal agency in nuclear waste facility licensing
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday against Texas and the oil industry in their challenge of Nuclear Regulatory Commission's authority to license certain facilities for nuclear waste storage. The conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh authored the 6-3 ruling that reversed an earlier court decision declaring illegal a license granted by the NRC for a company named Interim Storage Partners, to operate a storage facility of nuclear waste in western Texas. The NRC regulates nuclear power in the United States. The NRC granted a license to Interim Storage Partners, a joint venture between France's Orano and Dallas' Waste Control Specialists in 2021 for the construction of a nuclear waste facility in Andrews County near New Mexico. The U.S. Government and the Company had appealed against the decision of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court in New Orleans. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that NRC lacked the authority to grant the license based upon a 1954 law known as the Atomic Energy Act. The appeal was filed under former Democratic President Joe Biden, and continued by Republican President Donald Trump. The government claimed that Congress granted the NRC authority to issue temporary off-site nuclear storage facilities. Fasken Land and Minerals and the nonprofit Permian basin Coalition of Land and royalty owners and operators challenged Interim Storage Partners' license. Texas and New Mexico joined the lawsuit later, claiming that the facility was a threat to the environment of the two states. New Mexico's case was later dismissed. Kavanaugh's ruling stated that "to qualify as a part of a licensing procedure, the Atomic Energy Act mandates either being a license applicant or having successfully intervened in a licensing proceedings." In this case however, Texas, Fasken, and the other parties were not license applicants and did not intervene successfully in the licensing proceedings. He wrote that neither Texas nor Fasken was eligible to seek judicial review at the 5th Circuit. During the March 5 oral arguments, some conservative Supreme Court justices appeared to be wary of NRC's assertion that the licensing arrangements in question would only be temporary. The license granted to Interim Storage Partners would last 40 years with the option of renewal. After decades of opposition, a proposal to store spent nuclear fuel permanently at a federal facility in Yucca Mountain, Nevada has been put on hold. In recent years, the Supreme Court has, with a conservative majority of 6-3, limited the power of federal agencies, including the Environment Protection Agency and Securities and Exchange Commission. Last year, the court overturned its 1984 precedent which had accorded deference to agencies when interpreting laws. Trump, who returned to the presidency as of January 2017, has dismantled various agencies in his campaign to reduce the federal workforce and reform the government.
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The US Supreme Court sides up with the federal agency in nuclear waste facility licensing
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday against Texas and the oil industry in their challenge of Nuclear Regulatory Commission's authority to license certain facilities for nuclear waste storage. The ruling, which was 6-3 in favor of the NRC, reversed an earlier court decision that declared a license granted by the NRC for a company named Interim Storage Partners operating a nuclear waste facility in western Texas illegal. The NRC regulates nuclear power in the United States. The NRC granted a license to Interim Storage Partners, a joint venture between France's Orano and Dallas' Waste Control Specialists in 2021 for the construction of a nuclear waste facility in Andrews County near New Mexico. The U.S. Government and the Company had appealed against the decision of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court in New Orleans. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that NRC lacked the authority to grant the license based upon a 1954 law known as the Atomic Energy Act. The appeal was filed under former Democratic President Joe Biden, and continued by Republican President Donald Trump. The government claimed that Congress granted the NRC authority to issue temporary off-site nuclear storage facilities. Fasken Land and Minerals and the nonprofit Permian basin Coalition of Land and royalty owners and operators challenged Interim Storage Partners' license. Texas and New Mexico joined the lawsuit later, claiming that the facility was a threat to the environment of the two states. New Mexico's case was later dismissed. During the March 5 oral arguments, some conservative Supreme Court justices appeared to be wary of NRC's assertion that the licensing arrangements in question would only be temporary. The license granted to Interim Storage Partners would last 40 years with the option of renewal. After decades of opposition, a proposal to store spent nuclear fuel permanently at a federal facility in Yucca Mountain, Nevada, has been put on hold. In recent years, the Supreme Court has, with a conservative majority of 6-3, limited the authority and power of federal agencies, including the Environment Protection Agency and Securities and Exchange Commission. Last year, the court overturned its 1984 precedent which had accorded deference to agencies when interpreting laws. Trump, who returned to the presidency as of January 2017, has dismantled various agencies in his campaign to reduce the federal workforce and reform the government.
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Trump's role in the Nippon Steel acquisition of U.S. Steel is significant
The companies confirmed that Nippon Steel completed its $14.9 billion purchase of U.S. Steel on Wednesday. This confirms the unusual power of the Trump administration, after 18 months of struggle by the Japanese company to complete the acquisition. Nippon purchased 100% of U.S. Steel's shares for $55 each, just as it had stated in its initial offer to buy the well-known, struggling steelmaker back in December 2023. The filing reveals details of an agreement signed with the Trump Administration, giving President Donald Trump authority to name board members and a non-economic share. Eiji Hashimoto thanked Trump and said that Nippon Steel was excited to "open a new chapter in U. S. Steel’s storied past." According to a post on social media by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, the golden share grants the U.S. Government veto power over a range of corporate decisions. This includes idling factories, cutting production capacity, and moving jobs abroad. After a long and arduous road to approval, fueled by political opposition at the highest levels, the measures are an unusually high level of control that the companies have given to the government. Nippon Steel announced that its annual crude production capacity will reach 86,000,000 tons. This brings it closer to Nippon Steel’s global strategic target of 100,000,000 tons of crude steel production capability. National security lawyers warned on Monday that the inclusion of the golden stake to gain approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in America, which examines foreign investments for national security risk, could drive away overseas investors from U.S. firms. Both then-President Joe Biden (a Democrat) and Trump (a Republican) expressed their opposition to the deal after the United Steelworkers Union came out against it last year. They were trying to woo Pennsylvania voters, a crucial swing state in the presidential campaign. Biden, shortly before leaving office, blocked the deal in January on grounds of national security. This led to lawsuits from the companies who claimed that the national security review was biased. The Biden White House denied the claim. The steel companies saw an opportunity with the Trump administration. In April, the Trump administration opened a 45-day review of the proposed merger.
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The wife of a Russian oligarch has asked the UK court to jail her husband for unpaid legal fees
The wife of an oil tycoon from Russia asked a London judge on Wednesday for a jail sentence against her husband. She claimed that he repeatedly refused to pay the legal fees she incurred in their multimillion-dollar divorce case. Elena Kroupeeva, Mikhail Kroupeev's wife, accuses him of refusing numerous court orders after their 36-year-old marriage ended. The legal team of Kroupeeva told the court that the couple split in "tempestuous circumstances" after Kroupeeva learned in 2023 that her husband was living a double-life with a second secret family in Russia for the majority of the past 20 years. Kroupeev began her proceedings in July 2024 for a financial settlement. In February, she was ordered to pay a little over 195,000 pounds toward her legal fees. Her lawyers claimed that he failed to comply with this and subsequent orders demanding that he reveal the full extent of his wealth from his business empire. They said he owed her over 837,000 pounds and that a freezing order was also made for his assets worth 38 million pounds (about $51 million). Her lawyers said that the judge should issue an order to imprison him for contempt. In their submission to the court, her lawyers stated that "nothing less than a period imprisonment would be an effective punishment." Michael Glaser, Kroupeev’s lawyer, said that the accusations about their marriage and an alleged affair should never have been made. He told the court that the court order in dispute was appealable. The judge, however, rejected his request to adjourn the case. The couple, both Russian citizens with British citizenship, moved from Russia to Britain in the year 1993. Justin Warshaw, Kroupeeva’s lawyer, said Kroupeev made his fortune from his connections with Yuri Shafranik - a former Russian Energy Minister. Along with Gulfsands - which Kroupeeva’s lawyers claimed had a contract for the export of oil from Syria - his other business interests include Jupiter Energy which exports oil and gas to Kazakhstan and Waterford Finance, which specialises on oil, gas, and other energy projects. Justin Warshaw told the court that Kroupeeva and her family had lived an "opulent life" for many years. Her lawyers stated that the couple had a large portfolio of assets, including a house worth 15 million pounds in north London and luxury homes in Portugal, Turkey and Russia. They also claimed that the couple took luxury holidays, which included flying on a private jet. In their submission, her legal team stated that a large part of the reason for traveling privately is to allow the family dog to go on vacation with the family. Videolink allowed Kroupeeva's husband in Cyprus to attend the hearing remotely. The hearing continues. The hearing continues.
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Fed markets jittery as Mideast conflict continues
The global markets were nervous on Wednesday, as investors waited for the U.S. to announce its interest rate later that day. Meanwhile, the escalating hostilities in the Middle East added further pressure on an economy already struggling with the uncertainty surrounding U.S. tariff policies. Brent crude prices were up in Asian trading but fell during European morning, and lastly were 0.2% higher at $76.61 per barrel. European stocks fell 0.5%. Most major equity indices in the area also fell into the red as disruption in the Strait of Hormuz - a vital conduit for oil transported by sea - lowered growth prospects in energy importing nations. The U.S. Dollar held firm in the face of a swirling mass geopolitical risks and economic concerns. It regained some of its status as a safe haven after taking hefty hits for months from President Donald Trump’s tariff announcements, and worries about U.S. government debt. The index that tracks the greenback's performance against other major currencies, including the euro and the Japanese yen, was stable but still on course for its first weekly increase in four weeks. The euro was slightly higher today but still on track for a slight weekly decline. U.S. Equity Futures barely moved, as traders avoided placing bets about how the Federal Reserve planned to steer its monetary policy in the face of the intercurrents between weakening economic growth, rising geopolitical risks and inflationary tariffs. The Fed is expected to maintain its main funds rate in the range of 4.25%-4.50% it has been at since December, and to issue monetary projections known as dot plots that indicate it will not act decisively for several months. ESCALATION Israel's biggest ever air strikes against Iran, launched following its conclusion that Tehran was close to developing nuclear weapons pose a grave threat to the prospects of global economic growth as well as international security. Ayatollah Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, rejected Trump's demand for Tehran to "receive unconditional surrender" on Wednesday. The markets are trying hard to assess the risk of a large U.S. intervention. "It's difficult to know what the markets are thinking, but by looking at the oil prices and currencies they have priced in some risk of a very bad outcome," said Joseph Capurso. Dollar stability also held back gold prices. The precious metal's price, which had been surging for months, remained flat at $3 386 per ounce. UNCERTAINTY REIGNS The Fed faces a difficult backdrop with the conflict in the Middle East and the prolonged uncertainty surrounding Trump's tariffs, as well as signs of fragility within the U.S. economic system. Data released on Tuesday showed that U.S. retails sales dropped by 0.9% more than expected in May. This was the largest drop in four month, and labour market indicators also show weakness. Harvey Bradley, co-head global rates at Insight Investment, said that markets will be closely monitoring the Fed's quarter dot plot to get clues as to how and when it will resume the cutting cycle. He added that "tensions in the Middle East could threaten the inflation picture even further. It cannot be ruled-out that projections will adjust to reflect only one rate reduction this year." U.S. Treasury Yields fell again on Wednesday after falling Tuesday as investors bought government bonds to respond to the recent developments in Israel and Iran. Treasury yields are the benchmark for interest rates on debt around the world. They fall as the price of securities increases. The benchmark 10-year Treasury rate was about 2 basis point (bps) lower on Wednesday at 4.3731 percent, after falling roughly 6 basis points Tuesday. Geopolitical risk outweighed concerns about the U.S. government's debt becoming unsustainable. The yield on the two-year bond, which is more sensitive than other yields to changes in expectations of Fed interest rates, remained at 3,948%. This reflects widespread expectations that Fed will not reduce borrowing costs too much in the coming months. Investor uncertainty, which is closely monitored by the Fed, suggests that sentiment will likely remain choppy. The VVIX Index, which is a measure of market sentiment and rises rapidly when traders anticipate a rapid shift in the mood, was at 115 on Tuesday, after a rapid rise from 89 around early June.
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Does the battle over LME aluminum stocks signal or cause noise? Andy Home
Where has all the aluminum gone? In the warehouses of London Metal Exchange (LME), there were 1.3 million tons of aluminium two years ago. Since then, the inventory has almost halved to levels last seen in 2020. London's market is becoming more turbulent as traders compete for what's left. This may not be apparent at first glance, but the calm exterior masks a lot of turmoil. Short-dated spreads are tightening and becoming volatile. While the LME outright three-month price has been tethered around $2,500 per ton, the LME three month price is still a sedate level. LME's aluminium market has seen titanic battles for metal between traders with deep pockets. The game has taken on an entirely new dimension ever since the exchange in April of last year banned the delivery of new Russian aluminum. This latest LME stock battle echoes past LME battles, but this time the LME noise could be masking an essential market signal. A LARGE MARK, LARGE POSTIONS The biggest base metals market in the world is aluminium, with an annual consumption of about 100 million tons. Aluminium traders are known to have taken outlandishly big positions on the London market. This mega-long position has been roiling nearby spreads over the past month. The benchmark period is three months of cash The market has moved from a comfortable contagious of more than $42 per tonne in April, to a small backwardation. Last week, the "tom-next spread", which is the cost of rolling over a position and a reliable indication of market stress was traded at a backwardation of $12.30 per ton. There is no doubt that someone is looking to buy a large amount of aluminium, but the LME has only 321,800 tonnes of metal available in its warehouses. Two-thirds are Russian. In April of last year, Russian metal was banned from the United States and United Kingdom. It is now subject to quotas and a complete ban in Europe will be implemented at the end 2026. This makes it less desirable. There's no way to tell how many of the 323,000 tonnes of metal in LME storage that are also Russian, but there is no indication of the metal being moved to warrant to ease the spread tightness. If the goal of the squeeze is to get metal out of deep non-LME shadow storage, then it does not seem to work. So far, this month's arrivals have been a mere 150 tons. The LME ban on Russian metal after April 13, 2020 may hinder the normal functioning of the LME stock grab trade. This is to tighten the spreads in order to force holders of metal to release it. This assumes that there are a large number of aluminum products, Russian or otherwise, available for LME deliveries. CHINA'S IMPORT AFFECTION GROWS This assumption is beginning to seem a bit questionable given the absence of significant arrivals in the LME system of any type of aluminium since March. China's imports of Russian metal so far in this year indicate that even Russian metal is in high demand. Since the beginning of the Ukraine war in 2022, the country has absorbed Russian aluminium that was shunned in the West. Imports of Russian aluminum primary by China grew from 291,000 tonnes in 2021, to 1,13 million tons in 2020. In 2025, the pace of growth has increased again. Imports increased by 48% on an annual basis to 741,000 tonnes in January-April. The structural changes in aluminium supply are the main reason for China's appetite to import metal. The smelters of the country are close to reaching the 45 million tons annual cap set by government. Since the beginning of the year, the national annualised run rate has remained at around 44 million tons. The domestic market for primary metals is tightening up against a backdrop that includes a robust demand from solar energy. The Shanghai Futures Exchange has seen stocks fall to their lowest level in 16 months, 110,000 tons. Also, the curve for forward trading is now backwardated. SCRAP WARS China's stated strategy is to increase secondary production of recyclable metals to compensate for the cap in primary metal production. This may become more difficult as recyclable materials flow to the United States, because they are exempted from the tariffs of 50% imposed by Donald Trump's administration. The second major structural shift could lead to a tightening of the global scrap supply, which would force processors outside the United States to use more primary material. The scrap flows to China, which is the largest buyer in the world, could be further disrupted by the European Union imposing export tariffs. This would stop what they call "scrap leakage". The United States is now the threat. Originally, it was China. Testing Availability This latest mega-trade to grab a piece of the available stock is just the latest in an extensive history of mega-trades. It doesn't seem to be drawing any metal into the system. This story may have a Russian twist, but it is also a test to see if the market can be supplied. So far, supply has not been satisfactory. The LME stock churn will appear more like a signal of a downtrend in the LME's inventory the longer it continues. The author is a columnist at
Germany passes bill to speed up housing construction through reducing red tape
The German government approved a draft bill on Wednesday that will speed up housing unit construction, which has slowed down amid the wider property market crises, by cutting through red tape, which often drags out projects for many years.
In Germany, the number of apartment units built last year dropped dramatically, dropping 14.4% between 2023 and 251,900. This is far below the goal set by previous governments of 400,000 units per year. Germany's real estate sector has been recovering slowly from its worst slump in decades that began in 2022.
According to data released by the Federal Statistics Office on Wednesday, residential building permits, a key indicator of future construction, rose 4.9% in April. This is the second consecutive month that construction planning has increased.
The new German government hasn't set any concrete goals, but Chancellor Friedrich Merz cited affordable housing as an important social issue. He told the parliament, "Building, Building, Building" was his plan to make housing more affordable.
The bill allows municipalities to streamline the approval of residential buildings in Germany by giving more flexibility on the development plans that often take years to put together.
According to the bill, construction will be approved automatically if the municipal council does not vote it down within two months.
Verena Hubertz, Minister of Construction, stated that the goal is to increase the speed and efficiency in building, urban consolidation, and to make it easier to add floors to homes or apartments.
She said: "We don't just throw out all the rules." "But we want to deal with them more pragmatically and faster."
At a press conference alongside Hubertz, Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil stated that the government plans to invest large amounts in affordable housing. He added that the key figures of draft budgets that will be presented next Monday would reflect this drive.
Klingbeil said, "With the 500 billion Euro special fund we have created the conditions necessary for more investment."
(source: Reuters)