EU envoys approved the 16th round of sanctions plan on Russia, deciding to gradually ban the import of Russian primary aluminum in phases over the next year for the third year of the Russia-Ukraine war.

Since the EU has continued to reduce its imports of Russian aluminum since 2022 and is less dependent on it, the impact on the market is relatively limited. However, the news still drove London Metal Exchange (LME) aluminum prices, boosting buying and pushing them to rise for four consecutive trading days and hit a one-month high.

In addition, aluminum inventories in LME-registered warehouses fell to 547,950 tons, a new low since last May. Such a tighter supply further supported prices.

On Wednesday (February 19), LME aluminum futures closed at US%2,687/ton, an increase of US$18.5.