What do record steel and aluminum imports have in common? China, Korea, India and other countries’ governments essentially shun economics and unfairly subsidize these industries in myriad ways, creating a huge oversupply bubble. Taras Berezowsky explains how imports are affecting the US aluminum price as well as pushing down London Metal Exchange prices for it across the board.

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The Indian aluminum cash price saw a 2.0 percent drop on Friday, May 16, landing at INR 105.75 ($1.78) per kilogram and making it the biggest mover of the day. The 3-month price of aluminum weakened by 0.4 percent on the LME, settling at $1,796 per metric ton. On the LME, the primary aluminum cash price fell 0.3 percent to $1,753 per metric ton.

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Chinese aluminum prices were mixed for the day. The cash price of Chinese aluminum saw a 0.7 percent decline to CNY 12,950 ($2,079) per metric ton. For the fifth consecutive day, the price of Chinese aluminum scrap held flat at CNY 12,250 ($1,966) per metric ton. The price of Chinese aluminum billet saw little movement at CNY 13,590 ($2,181) per metric ton. The price of Chinese aluminum bar continues hovering around CNY 14,200 ($2,279) per metric ton for the fifth day in a row.