Futures tracking aluminum and steel prices in the U.S. surged after President Donald Trump said he will double tariffs on the metals this week.
Contracts linked to the prices that manufacturers pay to get aluminum delivered to the U.S. Midwest jumped 54% to the highest since 2013 on the Comex exchange in New York on Monday — offering an early glimpse of the much higher costs for American factories, with import levies set to rise to 50% from Wednesday.
Aluminum used in everything from beer cans to engine blocks and window frames was priced at a premium of 58 cents a pound, or about $1,280 a ton, in the Midwest over benchmark London contracts. That suggests U.S. buyers could end up paying about 50% more than international competitors to get hold of the metal.
