May 11, 2014 6:26 pm
Soaring power prices in Brazil have made it more profitable for Alcoa, the US aluminium maker, to cut local production of the metal and move into energy trading instead, according to union leaders and market experts.
A prolonged drought has dried Brazil’s hydropower dams, pushed up spot energy prices and raised the risk of power rationing – creating a potentially critical situation for President Dilma Rousseff before June’s World Cup football tournament and presidential elections in October. A February blackout cut electricity to 6m people.