Alcoa Urges LME to Improve Transparency for Clear Aluminum Price-Setting and to Enable Premium Hedging for Price Risk Management
Alcoa (NYSE: AA) has submitted a letter to the London Metal Exchange (LME) to comment on proposed warehouse rule changes and to recommend solutions to effectively address the business needs of aluminum producers and consumers.
Commenting on the proposed changes, Alcoa Chairman and CEO Klaus Kleinfeld said, "The proposed changes to the LME warehousing rules are trying to solve a non-existent metal availability problem. Metal is readily available and consumers are not waiting in queues. More importantly, the LME’s proposed rules changes will only aggravate the lack of transparency that has had a damaging impact on the aluminum industry and will do nothing to help our customers manage their exposure to aluminum pricing.”
“We are urging the LME to take actions that instead address the real issues affecting aluminum producers and consumers: (1) to improve transparency through clear reporting which will enhance market efficiency and confidence in the LME as the price-setter for aluminum, and (2) to establish regional premium contracts to enable market participants to manage price risk by hedging premiums."
Read Alcoa’s letter to the LME: www.alcoa.com/LME
Alcoa is the world’s leading producer of primary and fabricated aluminum, as well as the world’s largest miner of bauxite and refiner of alumina.
About Alcoa
Alcoa is the world’s leading producer of primary and fabricated aluminum, as well as the world’s largest miner of bauxite and refiner of alumina. In addition to inventing the modern-day aluminum industry, Alcoa innovation has been behind major milestones in the aerospace, automotive, packaging, building and construction, commercial transportation, consumer electronics and industrial markets over the past 125 years. Among the solutions Alcoa markets are flat-rolled products, hard alloy extrusions, and forgings, as well as Alcoa® wheels, fastening systems, precision and investment castings, and building systems in addition to its expertise in other light metals such as titanium and nickel-based super alloys. Sustainability is an integral part of Alcoa’s operating practices and the product design and engineering it provides to customers. Alcoa has been a member of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for 11 consecutive years and approximately 75 percent of all of the aluminum ever produced since 1888 is still in active use today. Alcoa employs approximately 61,000 people in 30 countries across the world. For more information, visit www.alcoa.com and follow @Alcoa on Twitter at twitter.com/Alcoa and follow Alcoa on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Alcoa.
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