LONDON (Reuters) – London Metal Exchange approved warehouses have not seen a surge of Russian metal after unfounded worries that the bulk of consumers would shun the metal, the LME said.
The exchange released new data showing there was no major change in the amounts of Russian metal in LME warehouses last month, supporting its decision announced late on Friday not to ban Russian metal from its system.
Some producers and other market participants had been vocal in calling for bans of Russian metal, saying because many consumers were refusing to buy the material, it would flood into LME storage facilities.
The 145-year-old LME launched a discussion paper on the subject last month, asking for feedback from the market.
From the feedback, it concluded that “for the most part, a material portion of the market is still accepting – even relying on – Russian metal”, the LME said in a notice explaining its decision not to ban Russian metal.
The LME, the world’s oldest and largest market for industrial metals, also said in January it would start publishing a monthly report on Russian metal in its warehouses.
In Friday’s notice, it said the amount of Russian metal in LME warehouses was largely stable from when it launched the discussion paper on Oct. 6 until the feedback period closed on Oct. 28.
A graphic in the notice showed the amount of Russian copper in LME warehouses fell to 58.1% from 63% while the proportion of Russian aluminium rose to 17.7% from 14.9%.
Russian Metal in LME warehouses https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/znpnbedwmpl/LME%20Russian%20metal%20in%20warehouses%20October%202022.png
(Reporting by Eric Onstad; Editing by Sandra Maler)