SHANGHAI- Metals prices were rangebound, with aluminum holding firm at a one-month high on Thursday as European Union envoys agreed to ban Russian primary aluminum imports in their 16th sanctions package to be adopted next week.
Three-month aluminum on the London Metals Exchange (LME) was up 0.1 percent at $2,690 a ton, its highest since January 20.
The Russian aluminum import ban will be phased in a year from the official adoption, EU diplomats said.
“Following a flurry of volatility amid Trump’s threats of tariffs, the market seems to be taking a wait-and-see approach,” ANZ Research said in a note.
The longer-term effect on metals from the geopolitical front was unclear. US President Donald Trump’s administration agreed on Tuesday to hold more talks with Russia on ending the war in Ukraine.
Russia is a major producer of aluminum, nickel and copper. The LME banned supplies of Russian metals made after April 2024 to its system last year.
Meanwhile, sources told Reuters that the Trump administration may seek to strike a simplified minerals deal with Ukraine to get a pact in place quickly and later negotiate detailed terms, such as how much of Ukraine’s vast resources the US would own.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) CMCU3 edged 0.1 percent higher to $9,473 a metric ton.
