This Morning in Metals: Alcoa Shares Jump 4%, Companies Seek Waivers from Section 232 Tariffs
This morning in metals news, there has been a flood of applications from U.S. companies for exemptions from the Section 232 tariffs. Nickel prices reached a three-year high, stoked by fears of more sanctions, and Alcoa shares jumped in after-hours trade following rosy Q1 results.
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Applications for Tariff Waivers Surge
The U.S. Department of Commerce is being inundated with applications from American companies requesting waivers from the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum, the Washington Post reported. As of last week, there have been more than 1,200 applications for exemptions from the steel tariffs and 125 applications regarding aluminum tariffs.
Kevin Dempsey, general counsel at the American Iron and Steel Institute, told the Post that he anticipates “several thousand exclusion requests” to be filed.
Nickel Price Reaches 3-Year High
Speculations that Russian nickel producer Norilsk Nickel will be added to U.S. sanctions have helped nickel prices reach their highest levels since 2014, according to MarketWatch.
Nickel prices rose to $15,875 per ton on Tuesday. This jump in nickel prices by more than 10% is also the biggest one-day move for the metal since 2008.
Alcoa Shares Jump After Rosy Q1 Results
Alcoa shares rose more than 4% to $62.02 in after-hours trade on Wednesday, after the aluminum producer posted better-than-expected Q1 earnings, the Financial Times reported.
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Revenues increased 16.4% to $3.09 billion, just over forecasts of $3.08 billion. Alcoa’s earnings of 77 cents a share were also above the expected 70 cents.
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