Asia aluminium premiums tumble on China influx

TOKYO: Spot aluminium premiums in Asia have nearly halved in recent weeks, even as US premiums hold at 3-year highs, driven down by an influx of Chinese metal and bets that Russian producer Rusal will avoid sanctions.

The divergence is set to complicate quarterly premium negotiations between global miners and Japanese buyers, which set the Asian benchmark for the metal used in everything from cars to beer cans.