U.S. Aluminum Premium Jumps 54% in Third Quarter to $2,418 a Ton
Key Facts
The average U.S. Midwest aluminum premium rose to $2,418 a ton in the third quarter of 2026, up 54% from the same period a year earlier, according to a filing by Constellium with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The filing puts the increase in the context of the cost of metal delivered to the region, which a previous Commodity Futures Trading Commission study identified as the main aluminum pricing point in the United States. In the first nine months of the year, the average premium was $2,409 a ton, compared with $1,095 in the corresponding period of 2025, an increase of 120%. The figures come as a circulating headline about a U.S. review of aluminum pricing mechanisms draws market attention, but the claim attributed to the commission could not be confirmed by a reliable open source. The filing therefore does not establish that the increase in the premium resulted from regulatory action or a specific review.
The regional premium separates the global aluminum price from the cost of delivery in a particular local market. The commission’s study explains that the London Metal Exchange cash price is a global price not tied to a specific delivery location, while local delivery markets are priced at differentials added to that price. The study defines the Midwest premium as the regional differential for aluminum delivered to the area, which it describes as the main pricing point in the United States. Platts and Harbor Aluminum publish daily assessments of the premium. This makes movements in quarterly and annual averages relevant indicators of the cost of metal in the U.S. market, without the filing alone explaining the reasons for those changes.
The commission’s study points to a financial futures contract for the Midwest premium on the COMEX, settled on the basis of Platts’ daily assessments during the month. COMEX’s official contract executive summary describes settlement of the Midwest aluminum transaction premium contract as financial, with the final settlement value based on the Platts premium. These contracts provide an instrument linked to the local premium itself, while the London exchange price remains a global benchmark for the metal. The available evidence does not confirm that the commission announced, on the date of the report, a plan to change these mechanisms or develop additional U.S. contracts. Constellium’s figures therefore remain a disclosure of the premium’s level and movement, not an announcement of a regulatory step.
In the futures market, open interest in Midwest aluminum premium contracts stood at 28,833 contracts in the Commodity Futures Trading Commission report dated November 3, 2026, down 1,784 contracts from the previous week. This figure measures open positions and their weekly change, and by itself does not indicate the price direction or whether a decision on aluminum pricing has been made. The commission says its Commitments of Traders report shows open futures and options positions for each Tuesday in markets where at least 20 traders hold positions at or above the reporting level. Position data are also supplied by reporting firms, and traders are classified according to the business activity they declare as their primary business. The commission says it does not know the specific reasons behind traders’ positions, limiting the extent to which the figures can be interpreted as evidence of their motives.
The commission is scheduled to release its next Commitments of Traders report on November 16, 2026, a date delayed because of a federal holiday, according to its official schedule. Reports are usually released at 3:30 p.m. Eastern time and generally cover data from the previous Tuesday, while federal holidays may delay publication by a day or two. The report presents open-position data; the commission does not describe it as a regulatory analysis or a follow-up to an aluminum pricing initiative. The release date remains separate from the claim about a review of pricing mechanisms. The reading of the Midwest premium in the latest filings is based here on the company’s comparison of the third quarter and first nine months of 2026 with the corresponding periods in 2025.