MELBOURNE, March 2 (Reuters) - Premiums for aluminium metalin the United States spiked to the highest in almost three yearsafter President Donalid Trump on Thursday flagged a 10 percentimport duty, as buyers sought to secure metal before highercosts come into force.
Premiums are paid by buyers on top of exchange prices tocover insurance and the cost of delivery, and signal thestrength of demand for physical metal,
Spot premiums for Comex aluminium jumped to 17 cents a pound 1AUPc1 ($375 a tonne) on Thursday, before finishing at 15.2cents, up 12 percent from 13.6 cents the day before and thehighest since April 2015.
President Donald Trump said on Thursday he would imposehefty tariffs on imported steel and aluminum to protect U.S.producers, risking retaliation from major trade partners likeChina, Europe and neighboring Canada as well as helping totrigger a large selloff on Wall Street.