~*~Mining and Metals Du Jour~*~

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http://www.elmostrador.cl/mercados/2016/03/18/la-bolsa-de-metales-de-londres-se-queda-sin-cobre-ni-aluminio/
The London Metal Exchange runs out of copper or aluminum
BY BLOOMBERG MARCH 18, 2016
The London Metal Exchange runs out of copper or aluminum
The amount stored in warehouses monitored by the stock market has fallen by nearly half compared to the peak in 2013 and is close to the lowest value in seven years. Operators are moving copper warehouses monitored by the LME to China to take advantage of arbitrage opportunities, which led to a record the amount held in facilities monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange. The movement is also encouraged by the operators who buy the metal as a currency hedge dollar on expectations of a weakening of the yuan, said Michael Turek, director of base metals at BGC Partners in New York.

Operators do not stop removing materials from deposits London Metal Exchange (LME, for its acronym in English).

The amount stored in warehouses monitored by the stock market has fallen by nearly half compared to the peak in 2013 and is close to the lowest value in seven years. Copper and aluminum account for most of the decline. These are the reasons:

Aluminum

Aluminum supply has been falling along with the other metals in both the LME storage tightens rules to prevent queues forming. In addition, operators are pulling out the metal of the network to take advantage of cheaper storage rates, according to Societe Generale SA.

Aluminum inventories hovering around the lowest level in seven years and are likely to occur more withdrawals. The metal removal orders jumped 26 percent on Thursday orders to take raw material deposits in Vlissingen, and grew 14 percent on Friday due to reservations made in Detroit.

It was the biggest jump in bookings in two days since December 2011, when a triggered withdrawal orders in the Dutch city caused extensive waiting to access the material. The delay caused consumer complaints and attracted the attention of legislators, forcing the bag to strengthen supervision of its more than six hundred deposits.

Copper

Operators are moving copper warehouses monitored by the LME to China to take advantage of arbitrage opportunities, which led to a record the amount held in facilities monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange. The movement is also encouraged by the operators who buy the metal as a currency hedge dollar on expectations of a weakening of the yuan, said Michael Turek, director of base metals at BGC Partners in New York.

Copper inventories monitored by the LME fell 3.7 percent on Thursday, the biggest drop since May 2014. Inventories fell for the twenty-first consecutive day Friday and were at the lowest level in nearly seventeen months.

"The LME stocks fell rapidly, but the build-up in China has been at least as strong," he said Macquarie Group Ltd. said in a report e-mailed on Thursday. The rise in iron ore registered this year also boosted optimism that demand in China, the biggest user of metals, can be better than expected, the company said.

The total amounts six metals in LME facilities decreased 26 percent in the last twelve months were 4.1 million tons. More than 10 million metric tons of aluminum are stored in places unmonitored, according to estimates by Macquarie.

"More generally, we are inundated with aluminum," said Caroline Bain, commodities economist at Capital Economics Ltd. in London, said in a telephone interview. "Although the shares are falling, there is no demand. We have to assume that most of this metal is coming out of the bag