The London Metal Exchange (LME) is pleased to announce its collaboration with Metalshub, a leading digital metals trading and price intelligence platform. In parallel with the LME’s existing derivative contracts and trading mechanisms, this joint initiative will establish a transparent, efficient and liquid spot trading platform and marketplace for base metals.
The initiative will complement the LME’s existing offering, and will expand the physical product suite available on Metalshub – which currently focuses on the steel industry – to encompass LME core base metals, as well as other products suited to spot trading, including sustainably produced metals such as low carbon aluminium.
Robin Martin, LME Head of Market Development, commented: “We are delighted to be working with Metalshub to develop and support the delivery of digital spot trading services to our global industrial user base. Physical metals trading needs are increasingly being met with digital solutions, which offer benefits such as transparency, efficiency and easily evidenced compliance with procurement requirements. As the global centre for industrial metals futures trading, the LME is well-positioned to work with the outstanding Metalshub management team, to help expand the Metalshub product base and develop its direct connectivity with the physical market.”
Frank Jackel, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Metalshub, commented: “This collaboration is extremely exciting as the LME and Metalshub share the vision that commodity markets will become increasingly digital and metal companies will continue to digitally transform their procurement and sales processes. Metalshub is already the leading global platform for steel raw materials and we are keen on working with the LME and expanding into LME metals. Combining our strengths and offering the future of metals trading through our cloud-based Metalshub platform is the first steps towards making our joint vision become reality.”
Sustainability
The spot trading initiative is central to the LME’s sustainability agenda, which aims to provide greater transparency and market access to sustainably produced metals, with Metalshub now able to offer a digital trading platform for such products. Collectively, the LME and Metalshub aim to support the metals industry in its efforts to decarbonise the economy, ensure responsible sourcing across supply chains and progress good corporate governance.
Georgina Hallett, LME Chief Sustainability Officer, commented: “Our collaboration with Metalshub enables us to begin facilitating buyers’ access to the physical metal that meets their specific sustainability criteria, including reliable pricing based on real transaction data. We look forward to working with Metalshub to bring ESG credentials to the forefront of trading and tendering practices.”
Product roll-out
Metalshub already provides an array of ferroalloys as well as various base and minor metal products via its marketplace. Over the coming months, the LME will undertake focused market engagement with its industrial user groups globally in order to develop a suitable product pipeline, with new products such as low carbon aluminium expected to be made available in early 2022.
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Notes to editors
- The spot trading platform caters specifically for the physical market. It complements the LME’s existing futures contract suite and trading mechanisms, the core function of which is to provide risk management and a physical market of last resort.
- Companies interested in using the Metalshub platform can register through the Metalshub website.
- Find more information on Metalshub and their existing product offering.
About the LME
The London Metal Exchange is the world centre for industrial metals trading. Most of the world’s non-ferrous metals business is conducted on the LME totalling $11.6 trillion, 155 million lots and 3.5 billion tonnes in 2020.
The metals community uses the LME, an HKEX Group company, as a venue to transfer or take on price risk, as a physical market of last resort and as the provider of transparent global reference prices.
About Metalshub
Metalshub is a pioneer of the digital revolution in the world of metals trading. It is a technology commodity company bringing positive change to the metals industry by providing a B2B digital marketplace for metals and ferroalloys and promoting a more efficient and liquid physical market. It is fully impartial and independent with no conflicts of interests.
Contact us
For further information or to speak to an LME spokesperson, please contact:
Miriam Heywood
miriam.heywood@lme.com