(MENAFN) Following rumors that the US administration is mulling a ban on Russian aluminum, the global metals market has been assessing potential supply disruptions. Prices have been in turmoil as uncertainty has grown.

Unsold metal, according to experts, usually finds up in the London Metal Exchange (LME) storage system, which consists of warehouses approved by the exchange to keep LME-registered metal.

“It’s been very disappointing for the poor aluminum market to see kind of a double whammy from weakening global demand, in China in particular, but also Russia dumping aluminum on the global market,” Wolfe Research mining and metal analyst Timna Tanners informed a news agency on Thursday. “So definitely this quarter reflected those challenges.”

Tanners cautioned that the following quarter might be harmed as well unless action is taken to prevent the possible dumping of Russian-origin metal and there is an increase in Chinese demand, both in infrastructure development and property building.

The White House was said to be considering an effective embargo on Russian shipments of the metal used in transportation and construction last week. According to sources, Washington is considering three measures, including an outright ban, hiking taxes to levels so onerous that an effective ban is imposed, or penalizing the Russian business Rusal, which manufactures the metal.

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