Crossing Rule

Do trades under the Crossing Rule contribute to price discovery?
Orders shall qualify as input data only where they are observable on the central limit order book of LMEselect. Trades shall qualify as input data only where they arise directly from such orders. For the avoidance of doubt, trades resulting from the Crossing Rule that do not interact with the central limit order book (i.e. that were executed using the LMEselect Crossing Order Type and resulted in “off-book” trades) shall not be considered as input data for the purpose of the Closing Prices Benchmark Methodology.

Is the automated cross applicable to both futures and spreads?
Yes, the LMEselect crossing order type is applicable for both futures and spreads. 

Isn't it prohibited to trade with yourself?
As per Regulation 2.2A of the LME Rulebook, Members may enter both sides of an order that result from Pre-Trade Communications. More details can be found in the “Crossing Rule” section of the LME Rulebook.

Is there not a risk the market moves during the 5 second crossing period?
The LME is delivering an automated cross order type to support Members in continuing to be able to offer guaranteed prices (with potential for improvement) to clients trading below the MVT,  should they so wish giving them the opportunity to get better pricing from LMEselect. 

When is the LMEselect crossing order type available from?
The LMEselect crossing order type is available for testing from the 2nd February 2026, and go-live is from the 18th May 2026.

Will the automated cross be available on all ISV front ends?
The LME is working with its independent software vendors to make the automated cross order type available from go-live.

Will cross trades be a new trade category?
No, cross trades will not be a new trade category. As described in the document "Adhere to Block Rules - Post-Trade Monitoring", the LME may periodically – and/or on an ad-hoc basis - request Members to review a sample of inter-office trades that fall within the scope of the block rules. For each trade in the sample, Members will be required to provide a complete and accurate explanation of the applicable exception or exemption, supported by appropriate evidence

Will the market see my order before it crosses?
The LMEselect Crossing Order Type will generate an RFC notification to the market which shows the volume of the order, but not the price or direction.

Does the RFC need to be in best bid/offer upon entry?
The LMEselect crossing order type does not need to be within the best bid/offer upon entry. 

How does the rebate work?
The LME will waive transaction fees for one member trade half of a LMEselect crossing order (automated cross) so that the total fee aligns with that of someone trading on LMEselect directly.

For the LMEselect cross (manual cross), the LME will rebate one member trade half if the following fields are correctly populated: (i) adding the word “ManualX” in the “Private Reference field” in LMEsmart when submitting the client trade, and (ii) populating the TradelinkID correctly.

How does a Member cancel an autocross within the 5 seconds of it being entered?
The RFC can be cancelled by using the cross-order cancel or a Order Mass Cancel request.

If the market goes into “halt” state as a cross is entered, what happens to the cross?
The RFC will be cancelled, and will have to be re-entered once the “halt” is lifted

If the market goes into “Pause” state as a cross is entered, what happens to the cross?
The RFC will be cancelled, and will have to be re-entered once the “halt” is lifted

What happens if I guaranteed a price to my client but the market improves during the 5 second window? Do I have to pass it on?

Whether utilising the manual cross or automated cross, the LME, the client side of an order could receive an improvement if the market moves in favour of that order. In such cases, Members are expected to pass on that price improvement to the Client.

For the avoidance of doubt, where the client is the buyer and the best offer in book is lower than client bid. Where the client is the seller and the best bid in the book is higher than the client offer.

Can a Member pass an order to another Member to execute on their behalf?

Yes, Members can pass on orders to other Members (Executing Members). In these cases, the Executing Member will be responsible to adhering to the MVT Rule.

Guaranteed cross – example 

See below an example of how the guaranteed cross works in practice. 

Illustrative scenario: a client wants to buy 9 lots of aluminium at 2865

In that case, the market has not moved in the five-second window. The outcomes are as follows:

Market improves

However, if the market had improved within the five-second window, as illustrated:

The outcome would have been different:

Market worsens

The outcome here is the cross being filled at the guaranteed price of 2865:

Non-guaranteed cross – example 

However, if the Member had used the non-guaranteed flag and the market moved higher, as illustrated here: 

the outcome with the non-guaranteed flag is a cancelled trade, with the Member having to re-enter the cross at a new price.

For more examples on how the guaranteed and non-guaranteed cross work in different scenarios, please see the document below.