LME has issued stricter reporting requirements to its members as a result of a backwardation in aluminium prices. The LME's regulation and compliance director, Alan Whiting, sent a note to brokers saying the threshold at which companies have to declare their large aluminum positions had been cut from 1,000 lots to only 100 lots. The memo stressed that the disclosure requirement would affect positions at the close of business on November 1 and last until further notice. Tightness around the November 1 date has seen a small backwardation in the cash-three months spread open up this week. Traders called the backwardation on November 1, an "aberration" and a "temporary phenomenon" that was set to last only one day. However, a second backwardation is also expected for December and this is forecast to last a number of days.
NSTL
