21 members of the Exchange have now participated in trading the contract that only began cash trading on the 24 July 2008. Since the introduction of cash trading the volumes of the contracts have more than doubled.

Commenting on the announcement LME Commercial Director, Liz Milan said: “Today our steel contracts have reached a notable double milestone. These are still early days for our steel contracts, but the fact that 260,000 tonnes of billet has traded on the LME shows that there is growing interest in our contracts and that the industry is beginning to understand the value of using futures.”

Notes to editors:

• On 25 February 2008 the Exchange launched steel billet futures contracts for the Mediterranean and Far East regions;
• Cash trading for the LME steel billet contracts commenced on the 24 July 2008.
• The LME steel billet contracts are traded in lots of 65 metric tonnes;
• The LME is the world’s premier non-ferrous metals market and achieved volumes of almost 93 million lots in 2007, an increase of 7% on 2006 figures
  and equivalent to $9,500 billion in monetary terms;
• Trading at the LME in non-ferrous metals, steel and plastics takes place across three platforms: through open-outcry trading on the “Ring”; through an
  inter-office telephone market and through LME Select electronic trading platform.