On November 11, 2022, the London Metal Exchange (LME), one of the world's largest commodities exchanges, announced that it would not bar Russian metal from being traded and stored in its system due a vital segment of the market is still planning to procure Russian metal in 2023.
Russia is one of the world's largest producers of aluminium and nickel. Sanctions imposed on some Russian companies following the Russia-Ukraine geopolitical crisis have not targeted these metals or the companies that produce them.
However, in October 2022, the world's oldest and largest market for industrial metals exchange floated a discussion paper on the topic, seeking a market opinion on the possibility of prohibiting Russian metal.
LME stated, "The LME does not propose at this time to prohibit the warranting of new Russian metal nor to impose thresholds or limits to the amount of Russian stock permitted in LME warehouses."
"While there is an ethical dimension regarding the global acceptability of Russian metal, the LME should not seek to take or impose any moral judgements on the broader market.”
The metal exchange further added, "We will continue monitoring Russian metal flow in LME warehouses. To provide transparency, it will publish regular reports from January 2023 detailing the percentage of warranted Russian metal in LME warehouses."
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