By Amy Lv, Dylan Duan and Lewis Jackson
BEIJING/SHANGHAI, March 12 (Reuters) - Commodities trader IXM is considering restarting its aluminium trading business this year and has held initial talks with major aluminium suppliers, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
Geneva-based IXM, owned by China's CMOC Group 603993.SS and one of the world's largest traders of physical non-ferrous metals, has been internally discussing rebuilding a team for aluminium trading since December, one of the sources said.
"As a trading company, IXM will adjust the specific trading product according to market conditions," a CMOC spokesperson said.
IXM and Lygend did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
The move coincides with some forecasts of a supply deficit of the light metal used in transport, construction and packaging as electrification and decarbonisation drive demand.
Benchmark three-month aluminium CMAL3 on the London Metal Exchange has climbed by 38% since the beginning of 2025. It touched a nearly four-year high at $3,544 per metric ton earlier this week.
That deficit could be worsened by the U.S.-Israel war on Iran, which has effectively frozen shipments from the Gulf, which accounts for around 9% of the global supply.
IXM's website lists a trading portfolio that includes cobalt, copper, gold, nickel, and lead & zinc, but not aluminium. The trading house closed its aluminium trading in 2024, said one of the sources.
IXM is in talks with some major aluminium producers for potential cooperation, the sources added. The company held talks with China's Lygend Resources 2245.HK on Wednesday, one of the sources said.
(Reporting by Amy Lv, Dylan Duan and Lewis Jackson)
((Amy.Lv@thomsonreuters.com;))
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