LME, Goldman Sachs accused of hoarding aluminium

The world's biggest metals market, the London Metal Exchange, and American banking giant Goldman Sachs are being sued over alleged anti-competitive and monopolistic behaviour concerning aluminium storage, the Hong Kong stock exchange said. The suit was filed in a United States district court on August 1 by aluminium company Superior Extrusion. According to a Sunday statement released by the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, which bought LME last year, the Michigan-based plaintiff accuses LME and Goldman Sachs of "anti-competitive and monopolistic behaviour in the warehousing market in connection with aluminium prices". The exchange said that after an initial assessment made by LME's management "the suit is without merit and LME will contest it vigorously". Complaints have mounted recently over delays in accessing aluminum stocks stored in warehouses, resulting in added costs that have lead to an increase in prices. Last month, an official of brewing company MillerCoors told a Senate panel that aluminium consumers last year paid an additional $3 billion in expenses because of delays in delivering aluminium from aluminium storage facilities controlled by large financial players, including Goldman Sachs. The LME approves and licenses warehouses, while Goldman Sachs has a warehousing unit. In the beginning of July, the LME launched a three-month consultation process to try to reduce the delays.