Introduction to London Metal Exchange (LME)

London Metal Exchange is the largest non-ferrous metal exchange in the world. The price and inventory of London Metal Exchange have an important impact on the production and sales of non-ferrous metals all over the world. In the mid-19th century, Britain was the largest producer of tin and copper in the world. With the passage of time, industrial demand continued to grow, and Britain urgently needed to import a large number of industrial raw materials from foreign mines. Under the conditions at that time, due to the irregular arrival time of cargo ships transporting ore across the ocean, the price of metal fluctuated greatly, and metal traders and consumers had to face great risks. In 1877, some metal traders established the London Metal Exchange and established a standardized trading mode.

From the beginning of this century, the London Metal Exchange began to publicly publish its transaction price and is widely regarded as a quasi price of world metal trade. 70% of the world’s total copper production is traded according to the official quotation published by the London Metal Exchange. The non-ferrous metal trading time procedure of the London Metal Exchange on weekdays is as follows: the morning floor trading starts at 11:40 GMT; Each trading variety takes turns trading for 5 minutes. 12: 20.

After all 8 metals are traded in sequence, take a 10 minute break; 12: 30, start the second transaction in the morning, and each variety is still traded in sequence for 5 minutes. Because the second intra market transaction in the morning determines the official settlement price of the day, it is of special significance. After the official settlement price is quoted, i.e. around 13:15 p.m., the OTC price starts trading and lasts until 13:30. During this period, eight metal varieties were traded at the same time. In the morning, the on-site trading ends after the off-site price closes, and the trading is carried out indoors. The second session of the day on the London Metal Exchange began at 15:10 p.m.

The floor trading in the afternoon is similar to that in the morning. After 16:35, the OTC trading will be carried out until 17:00, lasting for 25 minutes. The difference between morning and afternoon floor trading is that there is no important procedure of officially announcing the settlement price in afternoon floor trading. London Metal Exchange Trading schedule The first scene in the morning time

The second game in the afternoon time Section I (Greenwich) Section III (Greenwich) silver eleven point four zero aluminium alloy fifteen point one zero aluminium alloy eleven point four five silver fifteen point one five tin eleven point five zero lead fifteen point two zero aluminium eleven point five five zinc fifteen point two five copper twelve copper fifteen point three zero lead twelve point zero five aluminium fifteen point three five zinc twelve point one zero tin fifteen point four zero nickel twelve point one five nickel fifteen point four five rest rest

Section II Section IV copper twelve point three zero silver fifteen point five five aluminium alloy twelve point three five lead sixteen tin twelve point four zero zinc sixteen point zero five lead twelve point four five copper sixteen point one zero zinc twelve point five zero aluminium sixteen point one five aluminium twelve point five five tin sixteen point two zero nickel thirteen nickel sixteen point two five silver thirteen point zero five aluminium alloy sixteen point three zero （1＊） （2＊） Note: (1 *): OTC trading continued until 13.30. (2 *): OTC trading continued from 16.35 to 17.00. Aluminum alloy and silver end at 16.45, tin end at 16.50, zinc and nickel end at 16.55, and copper and aluminum end at 17.00. London copper LME is the largest copper futures trading market in the world. It was established in 1876. The trading varieties include copper, aluminum, lead, zinc, nickel and aluminum alloy. Copper futures trading began in 1877.

There are two types of copper traded: cathode copper: class a copper rod: class a copper with a weight of 110-125 kg. Among them, the trading of cathode copper is the most active. All delivered copper must have the grade of grade a copper approved by the London Stock Exchange and meet the requirements of the United Kingdom Bs6017-1981 standard classification specification. The contract rules for class a electrolytic copper are: Contract quantity unit 25 tons Quotation USD / ton Minimum range of price fluctuation USD 0.5/t Closing date Any trading day within three months.

The third Wednesday of each month is more than three months to 15 months Trading time 2：00－12：05 12: 30-12:35 (official price) 15：30－15：35 16：15－16：20 At present, LME has 14 member companies. Member brokerage companies can do their own business and also act as agents for customers. Unlike other exchanges, LME’s three-month futures contract is a continuous contract, so there is delivery every day. LME sets a bottom limit for spot copper, that is, spot (cash) copper discount. The spot discount shall not be less than US $30 for March copper. On the contrary, the spot premium can be unlimited. In addition, LME has no price limit.

London Aluminum Aluminum is the second largest metal after steel. Due to its light weight, good extensibility and strong corrosion resistance, aluminum is widely used in construction, packaging, electronics and other industries. In 2000, the global aluminum output reached 21191000 tons, and the trading volume of aluminum futures and options on the London Metal Exchange (LME) reached 25 million hands (about 600 million tons); From January to July 2001, the trading volume of aluminum futures options on the London Metal Exchange reached 15170158 hands (about 370 million tons). The LME aluminum contract is 99.7% pure aluminum, 25 tons (+ / – 2%) per hand, and the minimum fluctuation price of aluminum contract is 50 cents / ton.; There are three ingot shapes: 1． Aluminum ingot (12-26 kg). 2． T-shaped ingot (750 kg). 3． Large ingots (750 kg). Standard delivery physical delivery

The trading month is the latest month plus two consecutive months and the next 12 months. Trading time: 11:55-12:00, 12:50-12:55, 15:35-15:40, 16:15-16:20 Quotation unit: USD / mt Minimum price jump $0.5/mt (12.5usd / lot) There is no limit on the rise and fall of a single day Each business day in the last three months of the delivery date and the third Wednesday of each month in the next 12 months.