Chinese tax change boosts US commodity companies

China is scrapping a tax rebate for domestic commodity exporters, sending the prices of some of those raw materials — in particular, aluminum — soaring.

The Ministry of Finance said that an export-tax rebate which encouraged Chinese producers to send more overseas has been canceled for aluminum and copper, among other products, and reduced for batteries, photovoltaics, and more.

US-based aluminum producers Alcoa and Century Aluminum were among the best-performing stocks in the premarket session, each up about 7%. Both continued their upward trend after the market opened, with Century up over 13% as of 10:20 a.m. ET.

The tax tweak may be an attempt to highlight China’s dominant position in many commodity markets ahead of the Trump administration coming into power, or ensure more security in its domestic supply.

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