LME Lead is underpinned by 99.97% purity lead that meets the London Metal Exchange's approved physical specifications for quality, shape, storage and delivery. All lead delivered against an LME contract must be produced by an LME-approved brand and stored in an LME-approved warehouse.
This physical metal can be traded through futures which are physically deliverable and allow participants to manage price risk, gain market exposure or engage in delivery of metal. Standard LME options settle into an LME futures contract. Market participants also have a variety of financially settled products at their disposal such monthly average futures (MAFs) and Traded average price options (TAPOs).
More information
For full contract specification details, please refer to the LME Rulebook and our disclaimer page:
| Quality | Lead of 99.97% purity (minimum) must conform to the chemical composition one of the following standards: BS EN 12659:1999 - Permitted grades: material numbers PB970R, PB985R and PB990R GB/T 469/2013 - Permitted grades: 99.970%, 99.985%, 99.990% and 99.994% ASTM B29 19 - Permitted grades: 99.97% and 99.995% |
| Shape | Ingots |
| Lot size | 25 tonnes |
| Warrant | 25 tonnes (2% either more or less) |
| Brands | All lead deliverable against LME contracts must be of an LME-approved brand. |
| Warehousing | All lead deliverable against LME contracts must be stored in an LME approved warehouse. |
Available LME Lead contracts
The following contracts are available on LME Lead.
The benchmark LME Lead futures contract provides the ability to buy or sell 25 tonnes of tin for delivery on a specified future date – the prompt date. It is physically settled and forms the underlying contract for several related products.
For more information on futures contracts please see our futures page.
| Contract codes | PB | ||
| Underlying metal | Lead of 99.97% purity (minimum) | ||
| Lot size | 25 tonnes | ||
| Prompt dates | Daily: out to 3 months Weekly: 3 out to 6 months Monthly: 7 out to 63 months |
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| Price quotation | US dollars per tonne | ||
| Clearable currencies | US dollar, Japanese yen, sterling, euro | ||
| Minimum price fluctuation (tick size) per tonne | Outright | Carries | |
| Ring | $0.50 | $0.01 | |
| LMEselect | $0.50 | $0.01* | |
| Inter-office | $0.01 | $0.01 | |
| Last trading day | Up until the close of the first Ring the day before the prompt date | ||
| Settlement type | Physical | ||
| Trading venues | Ring, LMEselect, inter-office telephone | ||
| Margining | Contingent variation margin applied | ||
*Certain spread instruments will have different tick sizes. For detailed information, please refer to our tick sizes page.
Options contracts give the buyer of the contract the right but not the obligation to buy (call option) or sell (put option) a futures contract at a set price. The buyer pays a premium for this right . The underlying instrument is the third-Wednesday LME Lead futures contract.
For more information on futures contracts please see our options page.
| Contract code | PB |
| Underlying metal | Lead of 99.97% purity (minimum) |
| Lot size | 25 tonnes |
| Contract months | Monthly out to 15 months |
| Underlying contract | LME Lead futures - third Wednesday prompt of the contract month |
| Price quotation | US dollars per tonne |
| Clearable currencies | US dollar, Japanese yen, sterling, euro |
| Option style | American |
| Trading deadlines | Tuesday before the first Wednesday of the prompt month: Last trading time- by 18.00 Last matching and registration- by 18.15 |
| Expiry date/time | Any LME business day up to and including the first Wednesday of the expiring option month, from 07.30 up to: 11.15 for clearing members 11.10 for clients |
| Minimum price fluctuation (tick size) | $0.01 per tonne |
| Strike price intervals | $25 - for strikes from $25 to $9,975 $50 - for strikes from $10,000 to $19,950 $100 - for all strikes over $20,000 |
| Exercise of option | Option exercise is a manual process. LME Clear auto-exercise in the money options that are equal to or greater than two strikes above and two strikes below the at-the-money strike, as determined by the end of day valuation price of the relevant third Wednesday prompt of the contract month, on the evening before the first Wednesday expiry day. There is manual exercise for the remaining close-to-the-money options. Options exercise will result in a third Wednesday futures contract. |
| Payment terms | One business day following the trade day |
| Settlement type | Physical |
| Trading venues | Ring, inter-office telephone and LMEselect(as a delta hedged option only) |
Financially settled contracts based on the Monthly Average Settlement Price (MASP) of LME Lead. The MASP is the average of the daily LME Official Settlement Prices throughout the contract month. These contracts allow participants to hedge or gain exposure to monthly average prices rather than a single prompt date.
For more information on MAFs contracts please see MAFs page.
| Contract code | OP |
| Contract months | Monthly out to 15 months |
| Price quotation | US dollars per tonne |
| Clearable currencies | US dollars |
| Averaging period | The number of business days in a calendar month |
| Final settlement day | Two business days after the averaging month |
| Settlement price | The settlement price is the Monthly Average Settlement Price (MASP) which is the average of the daily LME Official Cash Settlement Prices of the relevant metal over the number of business days |
| Payment terms | Payment on the final settlement day (two good business days following the final day of the averaging period) via PPS |
| Trading days | Based on the current LME trading calendar |
| Last trading day/time | The last business day of the month, before the start of the second Ring at 12.30 |
| Minimum price fluctuation (tick size) | $0.01 per tonne |
| Daily closing price | The Notional Average Price (NAP) of the relevant metal is used to daily mark to market |
| Settlement type | Financial |
| Trading venues | LMEselect and the inter-office telephone market |
Exchange-traded and cleared options that settle financially against the Monthly Average Settlement Price (MASP) of LME Lead. The MASP is the average of the daily LME Official Settlement Prices throughout the contract month.
For more information on TAPOs contracts please see out TAPOs page.
| Contract code | PB |
| Underlying metal | Lead of 99.97% purity (minimum) |
| Lot size | 25 tonnes |
| Contract months | Monthly out to 15 months |
| Underlying contract | LME Lead futures - the average of the cash prompts for each business day of the contract month |
| Price quotation | US dollars per tonne |
| Clearable currencies | US dollars |
| Option style | Asian |
| Trading deadlines | The business day preceding the declaration day of the relevant prompt month: Last trading time- by 18.00 Last matching and registration- by 18.15 |
| Expiry date/time | Automatic declaration of in-the-money TAPOs at 15.00 on the last business day of the TAPO month |
| Minimum price fluctuation (tick size) | $0.01 per tonne |
| Strike price interval | $1 |
| Exercise of option | LME Clear auto exercise TAPOs. Exercise will result in two futures contracts, one at the strike price and the other at the Monthly Average Settlement Price (MASP). This has the same economic effect as cash settlement two business days after the last trading day of the contract month. |
| Settlement type | Financial |
| Trading venues | Ring, inter-office telephone and LMEselect(as a delta hedged option only) |