Trading on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was halted on Monday after a technical issue disrupted its electronic trading platform, preventing dealers from placing orders across several key industrial metals.
The outage affected contracts including copper, aluminium, zinc, and tin, according to statements from the exchange.
Market participants were left waiting for further information as trading systems stopped functioning during the afternoon session in London.
Trading data showed the halt took effect at 2:44 p.m. local time, while prices for the affected metals also stopped appearing on Bloomberg terminals from 1440 GMT.
“We are aware of an issue and working to resolve it as soon as possible,” said a spokesman for the LME.
Electronic trading platform outage halts metals trading
The London Metal Exchange confirmed the disruption was linked to its electronic trading system, although the exchange did not immediately provide details about the cause of the problem.
An update posted on the LME’s website indicated that an issue had been reported with its electronic trading platform, while other systems were continuing to operate normally.
The exchange said trading remained halted as of 4 p.m. local time, a period that typically marks the start of daily electronic trading windows used to determine official closing prices for metals contracts.
Given the timing of the disruption, the exchange indicated it may rely on contingency procedures.
“Given the proximity of the 1600-1700 GMT pricing window, the LME expects to apply its backup pricing waterfall approach to produce closing prices, which would result in a pricing disruption event,” a spokesperson for the exchange said.
In a separate statement, the LME said it intends to restore trading services after closing prices have been determined.
Outage comes amid volatile metals markets
The disruption comes at a time when metals markets have been experiencing heightened volatility.
The war involving Iran has disrupted flows of industrial metals, including aluminium and zinc, and created uncertainty about long-term demand for raw materials used in global manufacturing.
Before trading was halted, price movements in the metals complex had been mixed.
Copper was up about 0.6%, while aluminium had fallen around 1.3% earlier in the session.
The uncertainty surrounding supply chains and geopolitical tensions has increased volatility across commodity markets, particularly for metals tied closely to industrial production and global trade.
Recent outages highlight market infrastructure challenges
The latest disruption is part of a series of recent technical outages affecting major derivatives exchanges.
Earlier this year, the LME experienced a one-hour delay to the start of trading on Jan. 30, highlighting operational challenges faced by exchange operators.
Other exchanges have also encountered technical issues.
Rival exchange operator CME Group experienced a ten-hour outage in November, which roiled global markets.
In addition, traders in CME Group’s natural gas market were hit by a two-minute outage during a period of extreme volatility in January.
The LME introduced a new trading platform in March last year as part of a broad technological overhaul aimed at improving functionality for electronic traders.
Unlike many other exchanges where trading is largely automated, a significant share of transactions on the LME still takes place through phone calls and electronic messages between traders.
However, the exchange has been working to move more activity onto electronic platforms following the 2022 nickel crisis, which prompted scrutiny of its trading systems and market infrastructure.
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