Shares of Alcoa (NYSE: AA) jumped 12.5% in the month of August, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence, extending their rally from July. While better-than-expected second-quarter numbers lifted the stock higher in July, President Donald Trump set the aluminum giant's shares on fire last month.
On August 6, Trump delivered a speech at a Whirlpool manufacturing plant. The biggest takeaway from his speech was about tariffs. The President decided to slap tariffs on aluminum imports from Canada barely a year after lifting them.
Trump said he had withdrawn the tariffs in return for a promise that Canada would not flood the U.S. with aluminum and kill jobs, but the Canadian government broke its commitment.