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London Metal Exchange

The London Metal Exchange is the world's largest marketplace for trading industrial metals futures and options. Based in London, it provides price discovery and hedging facilities for a range of base and other metals including aluminium, copper, zinc, nickel, lead, tin and aluminium alloy. The exchange operates both open-outcry trading in its iconic Ring and electronic trading platforms, with contracts settled through physical delivery or cash. London Metal Exchange prices serve as global reference benchmarks for the metals industry, used by producers, consumers, traders and financial institutions to manage price risk and establish contract terms. The exchange is owned by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, which acquired it in 2012. It regulates warehousing and storage through a network of approved facilities worldwide, and its warrant system underpins the physical delivery mechanism. The London Metal Exchange has been central to metals trading since its founding in 1877, evolving from informal meetings of metals merchants into a formal exchange. It remains a critical institution for global metals markets, providing liquidity and transparency across the supply chain.

London Metal Exchange News


Zinc ingots
Zinc hits four-year peak on supply fears and speculators
21st August 2026 By: Reuters

Prices of zinc in London hit their highest in more than four years on Friday as the accumulation of stocks in China, the world's biggest metals consumer, drove concerns about shortages elsewhere,... 


Bandeira project area
Lithium Ionic adds lithium stalwart Ortega to board
21st August 2026 By: Marleny Arnoldi

TSX-V-listed Lithium Ionic has appointed two new independent directors John Turner and Ernie Ortiz Ortega. The company says these appointments strengthen the board's governance, legal, mining... 


Copper Cities site
MIT-spinout SiTration, BHP start trialling copper recovery from legacy mine water
21st August 2026 By: Marleny Arnoldi

Further to Massachusetts Institute of Technology spinout SiTration and global miner BHP's initiative to trial valorisation technology in the historic Globe-Miami mining district of Arizona, the... 


An image of copper
BMI expects metals complex performance to remain strong
14th August 2026 By: Tasneem Bulbulia

The metals complex has remained well-supported so far this month, extending the upward momentum from late June, BMI, a Fitch Solutions company, points out. It explains that this is underpinned by a... 


Aluminium
Aluminium on thin ice as LME stocks hit 36-year low, Reuters says
14th August 2026 By: Reuters

London Metal Exchange (LME) stocks of aluminium have slumped to their lowest level since 1990, attesting to the supply-chain dislocation caused by the Iran war. Gulf production of primary... 


Nickel
Indonesian nickel miner group says 2026 production quota additions to be granted selectively
13th August 2026 By: Reuters

The Indonesian government will grant additional nickel ore production quotas selectively and only to smelters that are running low on raw materials, an industry association said on Thursday, as the... 


Indonesia President Prabowo Subianto
Subianto's radical commodity export plan for Indonesia faces dueling visions
6th August 2026 By: Bloomberg

More than two months after President Prabowo Subianto unveiled plans to take control of Indonesia’s top commodity exports, the agency charged with carrying out the proposal is caught between... 


Stacks of zinc metal
Trafigura holding large amount of LME zinc as prices hit four-year high
3rd August 2026 By: Reuters

Commodity trading house Trafigura is one of the entities holding a large share of available zinc on the London Metal Exchange, two industry sources said, as prices of the metal used to galvanise... 


Copper smelting
Citi maintains bullish copper price targets on supply pressure
28th July 2026 By: Reuters

Citi maintained on Monday its bullish copper price targets through the end of the year, citing tighter physical markets and supply pressure in China. The bank held its $14 500 per metric ton zero-... 


Aluminium bar
LME aluminium stocks fall to lowest this century
27th July 2026 By: Reuters

Aluminium stocks on the London Metal Exchange have slumped to their lowest this century as supply constraints in the war-hit Middle East leave consumers drawing down inventories to secure metal.... 


Zinc/lead smelting
Glencore plans large LME lead withdrawals after stocks surge, sources say
23rd July 2026 By: Reuters

Commodity trader Glencore plans to withdraw 30 000 tons of lead from London Metal Exchange (LME) warehouses, two industry sources said, after inventories of the battery metal ballooned to record... 


Zinc metal
Zinc expected to retreat in 2026 as weak demand offsets supply fears
20th July 2026 By: Reuters

Zinc prices are expected to retreat from recent highs over the rest of the year as lacklustre demand offsets supply disruptions, analysts say. The metal used to galvanise steel is up more than 13%... 


Industries require reliable power, while developing the energy industry can create local demand
Africa needs power to accelerate industrialisation
16th July 2026 By: Schalk Burger

Power in Africa is not only an issue of infrastructure, but also an economic issue because industry requires reliable, affordable and sustainable energy. Industrial competitiveness is impossible... 


A generic image of lithium rocks
Lithium Africa seeks to strengthen governance with director nominations
14th July 2026 By: Lumkile Nkomfe

Mineral exploration company Lithium Africa has proposed the nomination of John Kanellitsas and Ernie Ortiz as directors, ahead of the company’s upcoming AGM to be held on August 21. The company has... 


Hydro employee at aluminium smelting operation
Aluminium supply shock revives long-idled Western smelters, Reuters says
10th July 2026 By: Reuters

The supply shock caused by the Iran war is sparking old Western aluminium smelters back into life. In the US, Magnitude 7 Metals is reactivating the New Madrid smelter in Missouri. 


Aluminium
Japan Q3 aluminium premiums soar to highest since 2015 on Mideast supply squeeze
8th July 2026 By: Reuters

Japanese aluminium buyers agreed to pay premiums of $395 a ton for shipments between July and September, the highest since 2015, as the US-Israeli war on Iran squeezed supply, five sources involved... 


Molten copper being cast
Copper braces for another round of US tariff roulette, Reuters says
28th May 2026 By: Reuters

Another round of tariff impacts are in store for copper, a Reuters columnist reports, as the deadline for a US decision on whether to impose tariffs on refined copper imports looms at the end of... 


Aluminium bars
Warning lights flash as aluminium reels from Gulf shock
25th May 2026 By: Reuters

The Iran war is shaping up to be one of the biggest supply shocks in the history of the aluminium market. Gulf production of the metal, which is used across sectors as diverse as transport,... 


Blocks of copper
Copper climbs toward record high as global supply tightens
13th May 2026 By: Bloomberg

Copper extended gains above $14 000/t, inching toward a record high seen earlier this year, as supply risks mount on mine disruptions around the world. The red metal rallied for an eighth session... 


Aluminium blocks
CRU sees aluminium prices above $4 000/t due to Iran war
12th May 2026 By: Reuters

Aluminium prices are expected to be above $4 000 per metric ton between the third quarter of 2026 and the second quarter of 2027 due to a market deficit caused mainly by the Iran war, an analyst... 


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pqt: 0.105s - ct: 0.151s - 275pq - 2rq
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