Aluminum price drops as Trump moves to narrow levies on metal products

Aluminum fell along with other metals as traders reacted to a possible reduction in the scope of US import tariffs on some aluminum and steel products.

Prices fell as much as 2.7% on the London Metal Exchange after reports that President Donald Trump is planning to roll back some levies on concern that the duties are hurting consumers. The White House has communicated to companies that adjustments to levies on derivative metal products are in the works, according to a person familiar with the matter. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent downplayed any potential rollback, however.

Trump doubled import tariffs on commodity-grade steel and aluminum to 50% in June, and later expanded them to cover derivative products including cans, cutlery and car parts. The package of levies has disrupted the global market, reducing shipments to the US and raising prices ahead of key midterm elections.

Navigating the tariffs on derivative goods has become an arduous task for companies, as they seek to identify the percentage of the materials in goods they sourced from overseas. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said two months ago that “there’s some complexity” with the levies, and had discussed the difficulties with Customs and Border Protection.

Separately, readily available copper inventories tracked by the LME rose by the most since July, taking total stocks at exchanges in Shanghai, London and New York to over a million tons as of Friday, the highest since 2003. Trading activity in China, the world’s biggest metals consumer, has slowed significantly in recent days in the lead-up to the Lunar New Year holidays, but it’s expected to pick up in March.

Still, this inventory overhang points to ample supplies in the near term, with the price discount of the nearby contract to the following month’s contract on the LME expanding to around $40 a ton on Friday.

Aluminum traded 0.7% lower to settle at $3,077.50 a ton on the LME. Copper was little changed at $12,881 while all other metals slipped.

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