Premiums for physical aluminium in Europe stayed just below record highs this week as supplies were tightly held, but they failed to breach peaks as high oil prices hurt prospects for global growth and demand was subdued.
Premiums for duty-paid metal in Rotterdam this week were at $190-210 a tonne over London Metal Exchange (LME) cash prices, traders said, little changed from quotes of $190-205 a tonne last week.
Last month traders quoted premiums for duty-paid aluminium in Europe at $200-210 a tonne -- a level that matched the highs of December 2006 when premiums hit their highest since Reuters records began in 1998.
"It's coming under a bit of pressure," a trader said of the premium. "It's definitely trading below $200 now."
But he added that he saw a brighter picture looking ahead. "There's still a lot of buying to be done for the second half."
Traders quoted the premium for duty-unpaid aluminium in Rotterdam at $130-135, matching highs hit in late 2010 and against quotes of $127-145 a tonne from last week.
Duty-unpaid premiums hit $170 in June 2010, their highest since Reuters records began.
Dampening the outlook for metals demand, oil prices near 2-1/2 year highs due to conflict in Libya have raised concerns inflationary pressures could hit global growth.
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