LME polls market participants on possible ban on Russian metals

MOSCOW. Oct 7 (Interfax) - The London Metal Exchange (LME) has asked market participants about their views on a possible ban on deliveries of Russian metals, giving them until October 28 to respond.

The exchange said that, while this year consumers have broadly been willing to take deliveries of Russian metal, an increasing number of consumers may be expressing an unwillingness to accept Russian metal in 2023.

The LME presented market participants with three options: maintain the current position, introduce thresholds for warranted Russian metal, or suspend the warranting of Russian metal in LME warehouses.

The LME said earlier that it was not planning to take an action beyond the scope of sanctions, which have not affected major Russian metal producers such as Rusal and Nornickel . Nonetheless, the exchange's copper committee, a group of industry representatives who play an advisory role, recommended banning deliveries of Russian metal. The committees for other metals opposed this idea.

However, in recent consultations the balance has shifted in favour of a ban and it was supported by the LME aluminum committee, Bloomberg reported.

Russia has about a 6% share of the world aluminum market, a 17% share of the high-grade nickel market and about 3% of the copper market.