Reuters: The EU and the USA have increased their purchases of aluminum and nickel from Russia

Despite logistical problems due to the war in Ukraine, the USA and the European Union have significantly increased their purchases of industrial metals from Russia, particularly nickel and aluminum.

Reuters writes about it.

According to calculations of data from the United Nations Comtrade database, in the period from March to June 2022, imports of aluminum and nickel from Russia to the EU and the USA increased by 70%. The total value of imports was $1.98 billion. At the same time, the price of these metals reached record highs.

The agency notes that the US and the EU largely did not impose sanctions on the industrial metals sector. Western countries continued to buy metals from aluminum company Rusal, which accounts for about 6% of world production, and from Nornickel (which accounts for almost 20% of world nickel production).

How to compare with last year, the USA increased the purchase of these metals from the Russian Federation by 70%, and the EU — by 22%.

• In March, Bloomberg wrote that half of the 20 richest people in Russia have not yet been sanctioned because of the war in Ukraine. Among them is Volodymyr Potanin (the largest shareholder of Norilsk Nickel).