What’s Stashed in Warehouses Is What Spooks Hydro’s CEO
- Financial investors sitting on sidelines with warehoused metal
- Creates overhang in market struggling with overcapacity
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The aluminum market is in the dark when it comes to how many tons of metal are locked up in warehouses.
Flows from stockpiles are an unknown factor in the market for the metal used in everything from beer cans to car parts. Warehouses are estimated to hold as much as 15 million metric tons, with less than three million tons in London Metal Exchange warehouses, according to Norsk Hydro ASA, Europe’s third largest producer of the metal.