Markets
Aluminum Inventories Rise as Clock Ticks on LME Ban Discussion
- LME on-warrant stockpiles have risen 24% since Oct 4.
- Measures by the bourse and the US could rock the market
Aluminum has spent the year being rocked by supply shocks.
Photographer: Oliver Bunic/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Aluminum is continuing to pour into London Metal Exchange warehouses, lifting inventory levels at a time when demand is deteriorating and the market is on high alert for signs that unwanted Russian metal could end up on the bourse.
The LME is undertaking a three-week discussion process to consider banning new deliveries of Russian supplies, with feedback on the issue due by Oct. 28. Some buyers are seeking to avoid Russian metal and traders have been warning for weeks that large volumes could be dumped on the LME, particularly in the aluminum market, which could roil benchmark prices.