US: Glencore to face antitrust suit over zinc monopoly

A US judge on Monday said two units of Anglo-Swiss mining company Glencore Plc must face a private antitrust lawsuit accusing them of trying to monopolize the market for special high grade zinc, driving up its price.

US District Judge Katherine Forrest in Manhattan said zinc purchasers alleged “a plausible story of market control” by the Glencore units, Glencore Ltd and Pacorini Metals USA Inc, that violated the Sherman Act, a US antitrust law.

The judge also dismissed a claim that Glencore’s 2010 purchase of Pacorini was an illegal merger because its effect was to reduce competition.

Forrest had in January dismissed an earlier version of the proposed class-action lawsuit, which also named Goldman Sachs Group Inc and JPMorgan Chase & Co as defendants. She said at the time that the plaintiffs could replead some claims against the Glencore units.

The lawsuit is among several in Manhattan in which investors and businesses accused banks and other defendants of conspiring to rig prices in financial and commodities markets.

Full Content: Reuters

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