Russian aluminium giant UC Rusal has called upon the London Metal Exchange to disclose the origin of the entirety of its aluminium reserves, not just those from Russia.
Rusal spoke out in response to the LME’s discussion over identifying Russian aluminium’s origin in its system. Several aluminium producers have called for the complete ban on trading Russian aluminium at the exchange, but the LME has so far declined to do so.
Rusal greeted the decision to continue to allow trade in Russian metal in an open letter to the LME.
“From January the LME plans to publish a monthly report on the percentage of live Russian metal on warrant.”
Rusal went on to say that such a report only comes yearly in April.
“We are naturally concerned that any such report would be restricted to Russian metal only.”
The LME’s proposed reporting would be monthly and would meet the needs of everyone involved, the platform said on Thursday.
Rusal continued by saying it would be in everyone’s best interests to treat aluminium from all sources the same way.
“In order to best serve the market through transparency, without singling out any specific origin or producer, we seek your confirmation that any future reports would contain the split of metal from all regions, similar to the annual release.”
Rusal says it has a strong 2023 to look forward to and it does not plan to deliver its primary aluminium straight into LME warehouses. Separately, sources report that over three quarters of Rusal’s expected 2023 output is already sold.
The LME has faced steady calls to ban Russian aluminium and other metals since Russian troops marched into Ukraine in February. Although Russia has been subject to sanctions, Rusal has so far avoided them.