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Markets

Russian Metal Exports Slide as Sanctions Hit Commodity Financing

  • Steelmakers see shipments decline; nickel deliveries also hit
  • Metal markets will face ‘accelerated tightening,’ Goldman says
A worker supervises the flow of hot liquid metal from a blast furnace during smelting in Novokuznetsk, Russia.

A worker supervises the flow of hot liquid metal from a blast furnace during smelting in Novokuznetsk, Russia.

Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg
Bloomberg News
Updated on

Russia’s industrial-metal exports are sinking as the country’s invasion of Ukraine prompts commodity buyers and financiers to pull back from its powerhouse producers, according to executives and analysts tracking trade flows.

The nation’s top steelmakers have seen exports drop since the incursion began, while nickel shipments have also been affected, people with knowledge of the matter said. While the response to Russia’s actions differs from country to country, Germany has halted almost all steel purchases, one of the people said, asking not to be named given the commercially sensitive nature of the transactions.