Trafigura's Impala delists 8 metals warehouses in Antwerp
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Commodity trader Trafigura's warehousing and logistics subsidiary has delisted eight metals warehouses in Antwerp, Belgium, the London Metal Exchange (LME) said on Monday.
The move by Impala Terminals UK Ltd comes as the market prepares for tighter LME rules to reduce wait times to access metal in warehouses following complaints, lawsuits and regulatory pressure.
The new regulations to take effect from April have the potential to reduce profits for warehouse companies, which have generated rental income from metals caught up in the backlogs.
Last month Trafigura said it would integrate its warehousing company North European Marine Services (NEMS) into Impala.
Sources in the warehousing sector have said that NEMS had not been as successful in creating queues and generating income from queues as rivals Detroit-based Metro, owned by investment bank Goldman Sachs , and miner trader Glencore-Xstrata's Pacorini in Vlissingen.
The quantity of LME metals stored at Antwerp has shrunk by more than 40 percent to less than 200,000 tonnes since July 1, when the LME released initial proposals regarding its warehouse regulations.
(Reporting by Susan Thomas, editing by William Hardy)
