Mercuria Leads LME Aluminum Withdrawals as War Cuts Supply
Aluminium ingots seen at the Aluminium Bahrain plant in Bahrain.
Photographer: Phil Weymouth/Bloomberg
Mercuria Energy Group Ltd. was the main trader behind a surge in orders to take delivery of aluminum on the London Metal Exchange, as the market braces for a major disruption to supplies caused by the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
The trading house was the main party involved in requests to withdraw nearly 100,000 tons of aluminum from LME warehouses in Malaysia on Tuesday, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified as the matter isn’t public. The LME reports the levels of stock on warrant and so-called cancellations on a daily basis, but does not identify the traders involved.