What is LME aluminium?

(September 2020) LME Aluminium (or LME Aluminum in American and Canadian English) stands for a group of spot, forward, and futures contracts, trading on the London Metal Exchange (LME), for delivery of primary Aluminium that can be used for price hedging, physical delivery of sales or purchases, investment, and speculation.

Which companies use LME aluminium contracts to hedge aluminium prices?

Notable companies that use LME Aluminium contracts to hedge Aluminium prices include General Motors, Boeing, and Alcoa.

How much do LME contracts cost?

The contracts prices are quoted in US dollars per tonne. LME prices have minimum tick sizes of $0.50 per tonne (or $12.50 for one contract) for open outcry trading in the LME Ring and electronic trading on LMEselect, while minimum tick sizes are reduced for inter-office telephone trading to $0.01 per tonne (or $0.50 for one contract).

What's happening with Benchmark aluminium on the LME?

Benchmark aluminium on the LME was down 2.3% at $2,252 a tonne at 1037 GMT. Western countries have imposed sanctions on Russian banks and wealthy individuals connected to President Vladimir Putin since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February, but so far there are no restrictions on buying Russian metal.