Copper market’s biggest whale fuels speculation of a major shift
The world’s single biggest buyer of copper, State Grid Corp. of China, has slowed its purchases of copper wire this year.
The London Metal Exchange (LME) said on Thursday that it would introduce a phased roll-out of an evolved closing price methodology to its most liquid contracts from January 2024 after a market-wide consultation.
The changes are part of sweeping measures that the LME, the world’s largest and oldest metals trading venue, launched in March to strengthen its markets and revive its flagging nickel contract.
The updated methodology to the way closing prices are calculated will increase transparency and bring it further in line with industry standards, says the LME, owned by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing.
“We appreciate that this evolution will impact the way market participants access and interact with LME price discovery – particularly in respect of members guaranteeing closing prices to their clients,” LME chief executive Matthew Chamberlain said in the statement.
“In response to market feedback, we will now be phasing in the implementation from January 2024 to ensure participants have adequate time to prepare for the changes.”
The changes will extend the volume-weighted average price (VWAP) methodology to five additional prompt dates for aluminum, copper, zinc, lead and nickel, the LME said.
(By Polina Devitt; Editing by Jason Neely and David Goodman)
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