(This Aug. 18 story has been refiled to clarify that the aluminum is of Russian origin, not bought from Russia, in the headline)
(Reuters) - Citigroup (NYSE:C) has purchased about $160 million of Russian aluminum from the London Metal Exchange (LME), originally produced by Russia's United Co Rusal International PJSC, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing sources familiar with the matter.
The share of Russian-origin stocks in LME-registered warehouses has been gradually rising this year as some traders and consumers scramble for alternatives to the country's metals, even though they are not directly targeted by Western sanctions imposed on Moscow.
Bloomberg also said that the U.S. bank was behind requests to deliver about 75,000 metric tons of aluminum from warehouses in South Korea, as reported by the LME on Friday.