LME Insight: Price Discovery Models Demystified In this LME Insight piece we take a high-level look at the different ways in which prices of metal are discovered. It is intended as a primer for those who want to develop their understanding of how commodities and metals markets work.
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Price discovery is one of the most important functions of the Exchange.
The LME's unprecedented levels of liquidity and genuine global reach ensure the LME is the de facto price formation venue for base metals.
We publish a set of reference prices that are centred on the most liquid trading sessions of the day. They are used the world over by industrial and financial participants for purposes of referencing, hedging, physical settlement, contract negotiations and margining and are indicators of where the market is at any point in time.
The LME also publishes real-time bid, offer and traded prices from LMEselect, the Ring and Member Indicative Quotes from the LME 24-hour telephone market.
For information about how the European Benchmarks Regulation applies to the LME and the prices that is publishes, please see our European Benchmarks Regulation page.