LME says no sign of metal offloading after report about Rusal

LONDON (Reuters) – The London Metal Exchange said on Wednesday it does not see evidence of metal moving into its warehouses on a long-term basis after Bloomberg News reported that Russia’s Rusal was working on a plan to deliver its aluminium to LME facilities.

Neither Rusal, nor its metal, is under sanctions imposed on other Russian companies after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February, which it calls a “special military operation”.

According to a report on Tuesday by Bloomberg News, which cited unnamed sources, Rusal has discussed shipping some aluminium from Russia’s far eastern port of Vladivostok to LME warehouses in Asia.

Rusal is currently considering delivering a small portion of its production as a pilot test, as it is mindful that large inflows of aluminium into LME inventories could push down prices, the report added.

Rusal did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The LME said in response to query by Reuters about the report: “We do not currently see any evidence of LME warehouses being used to offload metal on a long term basis.”

Metal movement has remained relatively constant over the last 12 months, the LME added.

“Our priority is to maintain an orderly market for the benefit of all market participants. We will, therefore, keep the situation under constant review,” it said.

(Reporting by Eric Onstad and Urvi Dugar, edited by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)