The London Metal Exchange's trading ring no longer serves an "irreplaceable function" and its permanent closure is inevitable, market participants have told Fastmarkets.
But despite the possibility of losing the ring, the LME will still have a unique - and important - selling point, they said: its daily prompt date structure.
"On a personal front, it will be sad to see the trading floor shut, as someone who started their career in metals there in 1974, [but] it is reasonable to ask the question whether the trading floor serves an irreplaceable function - and sadly, the answer will most probably be no," Malcolm Freeman, director at Kingdom Futures, said.
The LME announced in a discussion paper on Tuesday January 19 that it is
proposing to move to electronic pricing in the long term, and to close the 144-year-old open outcry ring.
"It is very sad, but I think the majority of the market were expecting this when [the ring] shut for lockdown [because...