The EU and the US began to import more Russian industrial metal
They’re bying more of the main industrial metals — aluminum and nickel. The metal imports to the EU and the US increased by 70% this spring.
Despite all the imposed sanctions and tough rhetoric, the European Union has dealt rather mildly with the Russian industrial metal market. According to Reuters, this emphasizes the fact that the EU can’t put enough pressure on the Russian economy. This is confirmed by Russia’s economic results being much better than expected, and even the ruble’s growth. The sanctions’ effects were also smoothed out by oil sales.
Immediately after February 24, nickel and aluminum prices reached a new all-time high. The new sanctions were expected to disrupt supply chains. This, however, did not happen. Analysts propose that Europe has learned a lesson from the previous sanction batch in 2018. After their implimentation the automotive, construction and energy sectors in the region have faced considerable difficulties.
During the first 4 months after the start of the war, the EU became the largest importer of raw aluminum, buying 78 207 tons of the metal every month. This is 13% more than in the same period in 2021.
