Energy Trader Mercuria Builds Massive Aluminum Bet on a Russia Peace Deal
Traders, brokers and clerks on the trading floor of the open outcry pit at the London Metal Exchange on March 11.
Photographer: Benjamin Cremel/AFP/Getty Images
Mercuria Energy Group Ltd. has built up a huge position in aluminum on the London Metal Exchange in a bet that any easing of sanctions against Moscow would tighten the market, according to people familiar with the matter.
The bet — the latest by an energy trading house to rock the metals market — underscores how the rapid geopolitical shifts of the Trump era are creating opportunities for commodity traders. Mercuria’s position, which in recent days has been over 1 million tons of aluminum, is several times the total deliverable inventory on the LME, and has helped drive a rapid tightening of the market in recent days.