Russian aluminum’s share of LME stocks rebounds to 93% in May

The share of available Russian-origin aluminum stocks in London Metal Exchange warehouses bounced back to 93% in May from 72% in April, exchange data showed on Wednesday, as traders opted to withdraw Indian metal.

Total available, or on-warrant, aluminum inventories on the LME fell 23% in May to 254,625 metric tons and stand at 250,525 tons, the lowest since May 2025, as production and logistical constraints in the Middle East tighten global supply.

In absolute terms, available Russian aluminum fell by 3,950 tons to 237,175 tons in May. Its share rose, however, as available Indian stocks dropped by a steeper 71,750 tons.

That left just 17,450 tons of Indian metal as the only non-Russian-origin available aluminum in LME warehouses at the end of May, after the withdrawal of 2,275 tons of Indonesian aluminum.

The share of Russian metal had been 92% in March before Indian aluminum was put back on warrant in April.

Many traders avoid Russian metal even though material produced there before April 13, 2024, can still be traded. Aluminum produced in Russia after that date was barred from the LME warehousing system to comply with Western sanctions.

Meanwhile, the share of Chinese-made copper among available LME copper stocks nudged up to 53% in May from 51% in April, even as the absolute amount fell by 36,425 tons to 141,025 tons.

Total available copper stocks decreased by 79,375 tons to 266,875 tons.

The share of Chinese-origin nickel held steady at 71% of available LME stocks at the end of last month.

(By Tom Daly; Editing by Mark Potter)