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London - The London Metal Exchange and Goldman Sachs have been named as co-defendants in a US class-action lawsuit alleging anti-competitive behaviour in aluminium warehousing, said Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEx).
Goldman on Wednesday tried to diffuse years of frustration over long waiting times and inflated prices at metals warehouses across the world by offering immediate access to aluminium for end users holding metal at its Metro warehouses.
Criticism of banks that own commodity assets and trade raw materials has ratcheted up in recent weeks, with the US Department of Justice starting a preliminary probe into the metals warehousing industry, sources said.
Britain's financial watchdog is also investigating the LME's warehousing system.
The lawsuit alleges "anti-competitive and monopolistic behaviour in the warehousing market in connection with aluminium prices", LME owner HKEx said in a statement on Sunday.
The lead plaintiff in the lawsuit, filed on Friday in the US District Court in Michigan, is Superior Extrusion - an end user of aluminium.
"LME management's initial assessment is that the suit is without merit and LME will contest it vigorously," HKEx said.
Customers and US lawmakers have accused Goldman and other warehouse owners of artificially inflating waiting times to boost rents for warehouse owners and lift metal prices.
London Metal Exchange aluminium for three months delivery closed at $1 809 per ton on Friday.
