LME. The world's largest exchange for futures contracts and options on base and other metals. Based in London, the London Metal Exchange was founded in 1877 but became an official trading exchange in 1920. Originally, only copper was traded on the exchange but soon zinc and lead were added and over the years, precious metals such as gold were added as well. The London Metal Exchange has volumes of up to 93 million lots, totaling about $9.5 trillion dollars annually. Only about 5% of the trades originate in the UK, while the remaining 95% comes from locations around the world. There are three ways of trading on the LME: an open outcry system, an inter-office telephone system, and through an electronic trading platform called "LME Select."

Copyright©2009 by InvestorWords.com. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Reproduction of all or part of this glossary and/or this page, in any format, without written consent is prohibited. If you have questions about this dictionary please feel free to contact us feedback\@\investorguide.com