In September 2026, the LME published Member Notice 26/228 which confirms the introduction timetable for the launch of electronic options trading on LMEselectv10. The notice provides an update on the timeline for the LME’s electronic options delivery, including market testing dates and the production go-live date.
It follows the publication of Decision Notice 26/064, which confirmed the automation of the options expiry process and the move of LME Options from American to European-style, which were consulted on in Member Notice 25/230.
Background
In the LME Options Roadmap (Member Notice 25/182), the LME outlined its plans to modernise the options market. The Roadmap identified two immediate priorities: first, moving to an automated expiry process; and second, in parallel, working on the roll out of electronic options quoted in premium terms. The delivery of electronic options supports the LME’s broader objectives of enhancing liquidity and transparency, lowering barriers to entry and broadening participation.
Auto-expiry
Auto-expiry, including the move from American to European style options, takes effect on 21 September 2026. The first automated expiry will be on 7 October 2026.
Electronic options: timeline
In response to feedback from members, the LME will provide an extended period of market testing to support participants’ technical and operational readiness.
The market test environment will be made available from 19 October 2026 for testing the options order entry (FIX and Binary) and market data functionality.
Additional functionality will be added throughout November including mass quote functionality (23 November 2026) and market maker protections (17 December 2026 – initially for volume over time only).
The LME will go live with copper on 30 March 2027. The LME will then add aluminium with lead, zinc and nickel as well as additional maturities following afterwards. Launch dates for these follow-on deliveries will be announced via notice.
Following the initial launch, the LME intends to continue to enhance its electronic options offering, adding new features throughout 2027 and beyond. This includes:
- Additional auto-listed options strikes (and changes to instrument persistence logic)
- Enabling predefined and custom strategies for options
- Additional market maker protection
- Variable tick sizes