China’s Imports of Russian Aluminum Stymied for Now by Surge in World Prices
- Putin visits strategic ally this week, underscoring ties
- Rusal nearly tripled share of sales from China last year
Russian producers would need to offer bigger discounts to attract Chinese buyers, although they may be hesitant to do so given solid demand from other markets in Southeast Asia, Japan and South Korea, according to traders.
Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Chinese buyers are temporarily shunning Russian aluminum, as commercial realities intrude on the push to deepen bilateral trade ties.
Sanctions imposed on Russian base metals last month by the top UK and US exchanges are expected to drive more aluminum sales to China, the world’s biggest consumer of the metal and Moscow’s strategic ally. But a surge in international prices has made imports too costly for now, traders said.