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The London Metal Exchange (LME) has imposed a ban on storing Russia-branded nickel at its approved warehouses in the UK, reported Reuters.
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Effective 20 July 2022, the ban follows a resolution announced by the exchange on 1 April 2022 that blocked other Russia-branded metals, including copper, lead, primary aluminium and aluminium alloy from storing at the UK-based warehouses.
The initial ban was in response to the 35% additional duties placed by the British Government on those metals as part of sanctions on Russia in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine.
At that time, LME stated: “The LME is concerned that any metal, which is subject to the regulations and which is put on warrant in LME-listed warehouses in the UK will be unable to be removed from warrant and imported into the UK without significant additional cost as a result of the regulations.”
Owned by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, LME said the British warehouses currently hold no Russian nickel, reported the news agency.
The exchange said there exists a significant risk of very high additional costs for buyers of Russian nickel from warehouses in Hull and Liverpool.
Russia supplies around 10% of the world’s nickel, 3.5% of its copper and 6% of its aluminium, according to Mining.com.
A ban on Russian metals is anticipated to result in commodity shortages and a surge in prices amid global inflation.
