The London Metal Exchange (LME) saw encouraging volumes in LMEswaps trading since launching the contracts on 23 January 2012. A total of 2,400 lots traded, of which 2,368 were in aluminium, 30 in copper and two in nickel.
LMEswaps introduce a new kind of contract to the market, which responds to the needs of the physical industry. For the first time, LMEswap users can benefit from a regulated market with the same counterparty default risk protection offered by other LME contracts.
Tradable on LMEselect and the 24-hour telephone market, LMEswaps enable market participants to enter into a fixed price and settle the difference against the floating price (the Monthly Average Settlement Price or MASP) at the end of the averaging period – all in one simple trade.
