The London Metal Exchange’s new futures contracts in cobalt and molybdenum were actively traded on their first day of trading, demonstrating the tangible need for risk management tools in these markets.
A total of $5.7million was transacted ($3.6million of cobalt; $2.1million of molybdenum) with 99 lots traded (90 cobalt; 9 molybdenum).
Most trading took place on LMEselect, the Exchange’s electronic trading platform and in the inter-office telephone market, while 5 trades were completed in the LME’s open outcry trading floor – the Ring.
Chris Evans, Head of Business Development at the LME, said, “We’re extremely encouraged by this initial bout of trading, and I think this shows again that there is a tangible interest in these types of instruments. It’s a good start, but we have a long way to go.”
The official prices discovered were:
OFFICIALS:
CASH | 3 MONTH | 15 MONTH | SETTL. | |
Cobalt | / | 39950.0/40000.0 | 39000.0/39500.0 | / |
Molybdenum | / | 37500.0/38500.0 | 36500.0/37500.0 | / |
Cobalt has many applications such as the production of catalysts, batteries, chemicals, alloys and dyes. Molybdenum is widely used as an alloy agent in steel and stainless steel.