US aluminium, steel prices jump, shares drop on Trump's new tariffs

[groundloop]

Source: Reuters

U.S. prices of steel and aluminium spiked on Monday while shares of foreign steelmakers slumped after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would double tariffs on imports of the two metals to 50%.

Trump announced on Friday the new steel and aluminium levies, which take effect on June 4, intensifying a global trade war just hours after he accused China of violating an agreement with the U.S. to mutually roll back tariffs and trade restrictions for critical minerals.

The U.S. is the world's largest steel importer, excluding the European Union, with a total of 26.2 million tons of steel imported in 2024, according to the Department of Commerce.

[snip]

"Higher prices are also likely to weigh further on U.S. steel demand from the manufacturing sector, which we already expect to contract this year," said analyst Eoin Dinsmore at Goldman Sachs.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/south-korea-minimise-impact-50-tariff-steel-products-ministry-says-2025-06-02/

[FredGarvin]

1. Aluminum futures at the CME are showing an increase of 1.7% today

Business Insider shows a decline of 1.4%.

Seems like a nothingburger

[Nigrum Cattus]

2. More stupid -

All steel for high rises is imported.
They own the patents on the alloy, HSLA.
Markup on steel is 10 to 20 percent, do the math.
https://luxembourg.arcelormittal.com/en/arcelormittal-in-luxembourg/history

[wolfie001]

3. All of those CEOs have tRUMP's portrait on their corporate boardrooms

Probably an AI image as Ironman.

[speak easy]

4. This how tariffs are supposed to work.

They allow domestic producers to their raise prices.

[TomSlick]

5. The problem is that aluminum production is too expensive in the US.

The main cost for producing aluminum is electricity. Aluminum can only be produced where electricity is readily available and relatively cheap.

There are currently four aluminum reduction (smelting) plants operating in the US. When I was a kid, there were two reduction plants in Arkansas, a bauxite (aluminum ore) refining plant, and a rolling mill. (Back in the day, bauxite was mined in Arkansas. There is still a town of Bauxite south of Little Rock.) All that remains is the rolling mill.

Aluminum reduction plants are a major construction, especially if electricity production facilities must be constructed.

New plants will not be built based on TACO tariffs.

[speak easy]

6. "New plants will not be built based on TACO tariffs."

Agreed.

[TomSlick]

7. I would love to see a resurgence in aluminum production in the US.

I just don't see how it can happen without an answer to the huge electricity requirement.

[speak easy]

8. At College an Economics Professor said to our class

'Aluminum is frozen electricity.' - Yeah. Power is the main input.