London Metal Exchange (LME) Prices Today

The London Metal Exchange (LME) is the world's largest market for industrial base metals. Founded in 1877 and owned by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing since 2012, the LME sets the global benchmark prices for copper, aluminum, zinc, nickel, lead, and tin that physical supply contracts reference worldwide.

Trading happens on two venues: an electronic platform that runs from 01:00 to 19:00 London time, and the famous ring, the last open-outcry trading floor in Europe, where dealers trade face to face in five-minute sessions between 11:40 and 17:00 London time. The official settlement prices used to value physical contracts are established during the second ring session.

LME contracts are quoted in US dollars per metric tonne and trade in standard lots: 25 tonnes for copper, aluminum, zinc, and lead, and 6 tonnes for nickel. Behind the contracts sits a global network of LME-approved warehouses where physical metal can be delivered, and daily warehouse stock reports are one of the most watched supply signals in the metals world.

Every LME metal trades on a curve of delivery dates, and two points on that curve matter most. The cash price is for delivery in two business days; it is the LME's spot price and the number used to settle physical contracts priced off the exchange. The 3-month price is the most actively traded contract and the benchmark you usually see quoted in financial news. The 3-month convention dates back to the sailing time of copper shipments to London in the exchange's early years.

The gap between the two is a market signal in itself. When the 3-month price sits above cash, the market is in contango, which reflects normal financing and storage costs. When cash trades above the 3-month price, the market is in backwardation: buyers are paying a premium for immediate metal, a classic sign that nearby physical supply is tight. Traders watch backwardation alongside falling LME warehouse stocks as a leading indicator of price strength.

Beyond cash and 3-month, the LME lists prompt dates running out months and even years, letting producers and consumers hedge future deliveries precisely. That daily prompt-date structure is what distinguishes the LME from futures exchanges like COMEX, which concentrate liquidity in a few monthly contracts.