China copper smelters plan to cut output after margins fall
The output cuts underscore the industry’s struggle with a shortage of feedstocks caused by recent mine production setbacks.
The London Metal Exchange (LE) has launched new collaboration with its Chinese rival, the Shanghai Futures Exchange, LME chief executive Matthew Chamberlain said on Tuesday.
The LME, owned by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX), is the world’s largest and oldest metals forum.
“Today our two venues have opened a new chapter of close cooperation and we intend to further deepen our collaboration in 2024,” Chamberlain told the LME dinner, part of the annual LME Week industry gathering in London.
“We will work together in product innovation to better serve international participants in risk management and price discovery,” he added, giving no further details.
The LME has been grappling with a lawsuit and reduced nickel trading volumes after a wild spike in prices in March last year when nickel prices doubled in a matter of hours.
The 146-year-old LME was forced to halt nickel trading and cancel deals after volatility caused partly by large over-the-counter (OTC) short nickel positions.
“In the metals industry, the spotlight is on the world of OTC contracts, a world that is largely hidden from view,” LME interim chairman John Williamson told the same event.
“We must now think collectively and carefully about the role of OTC markets in our market and what that means for the LME.”
(By Polina Devitt and Eric Onstad; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
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