Copper Users Said by Nexans Trying to Avoid LME Warehouses

Copper consumers are trying to avoid taking metal from warehouses approved by the London Metal Exchange and going directly to producers instead, according to Nexans SA, the world’s second-biggest cable maker.

Getting metal out of LME warehouses is difficult, said Marie-Francoise Levelt, head of metals trading and copper purchasing manager at Nexans in Paris. Some 88 percent of LME copper stockpiles in Europe are in Antwerp, Belgium, and waits to get metal there are long, Macquarie Group Ltd. says.