Ring trading
1145 to 1700 hours, London Time

Open-outcry is the oldest and most popular way of trading on the Exchange. It is central to the process of ‘price discovery’, a term used to describe the way LME official prices are established. These prices are derived from the most liquid periods of trading; the short open-outcry ‘ring’ trading sessions, and are most representative of industry supply and demand. The official settlement price, on which contracts are settled, is determined by the last offer price before the bell is sounded to mark the end of the official ring.

LMEselect
0100 to 1900 hours, London Time

LMEselect is the official Exchange-operated electronic trading platform. LME member firms are connected to the LMEselect system which allows accredited traders to execute trades electronically. It allows for straight-through processing in which LMEselect trades are automatically sent to the matching and clearing systems operated by LCH.Clearnet.

The system also enables LME members to connect their clients directly to the LMEselect trading system via third party applications, a process known as ‘order-routing’.

Telephone trading
24 hours a day

The Exchange also supports an inter-office telephone market between LME members which operates 24 hours a day.