The spot US Midwest aluminum premium surged by 26.3% over January 2-31, on the back of 

cuts in Canadian supplies, local transportation constraints, and uncertainty over results of the 

administration's  Section  232  investigation  on  whether aluminum imports were harming US 

national security. 

S&P Global Platts assessed the US Midwest premium at 12 cents/lb delivered on Wednesday, 

up from 9.5 cents/lb on January 2. 

The  LME  February/March  timespread  was  in  backwardation  of  $4-$9.5 /mt in January, 

according to LME data. The premiums to LME typically weaken when the market structure is 

backwardated, but this time there was little impact on the premiums as the US had strong 

appetite for aluminum, though this was not the case in other markets. 

Aluminum  premiums  in  other  markets  rose, tracking the US, but at varied levels reflecting 

domestic stock levels, supply and demand conditions, as well as market participants' exposur

e to the LME spreads. 

The CIF Japan spot premium jumped 12% over January, the European duty-unpaid premium 

rose 8.1% and Brazil's CIF duty-unpaid premium edged up 3%.