LME Copper vs. COMEX Copper

For those new to copper investing, keeping track of copper prices can be confusing. Below is a look at the different metals exchanges that copper investors should know about.

Copper traded on the London Metal Exchange (LME), or LME copper, is priced per tonne, but COMEX copper, or contracts traded on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), are priced per pound.

Both markets provide valuable information for those following the copper market or investing in copper stocks. Here’s a short overview of both COMEX copper and LME copper, and why it’s important for investors to know what they are.

LME copper

As mentioned, LME copper refers to copper traded in London, where options and futures contracts for industrial metals are traded. More specifically, LME copper may refer to spot LME copper prices or prices for futures contracts on the London exchange.

LME copper futures contracts may be set at up to three months with daily expiration dates, or between three and six months with weekly expiration dates. There are also longer contracts of up to 123 months.

Contract prices are quoted in US dollars and are sold in lots of 25 tonnes. They may be settled via physical delivery between a network of LME-approved warehouses around the world.

For this reason, LME copper may also refer to inventories of copper cathode in LME warehouses. In addition to acting as a futures trading exchange and providing reference prices, the LME acts as a physical market of last resort for producers and consumers of a number of metals, including copper.

In other words, those in the copper industry may sell LME copper during oversupplied markets and draw on LME copper inventories in the event of a copper shortage. Some market watchers look to rising and falling inventory levels on the LME as an indicator of global supply and demand conditions. However, it’s important to note that physical delivery is the exception rather than the norm.

The exchange also publishes daily reference prices for LME copper and other metals that are used by market participants. Overall, the exchange is predominantly used to either hedge or take on price risk.

COMEX copper

Headquartered in New York, with offices all over the world, the COMEX is a commodities futures and options exchange similar to the LME. Both the NYMEX and the COMEX, which merged in 1994, are owned by CME Group (NASDAQ:CME).

Like LME copper, COMEX copper can also refer to spot copper prices and copper contracts traded on the COMEX. As mentioned above, copper contracts are priced per pound on the COMEX, with listed contracts available during the current calendar month, the next 23 calendar months and any March, May, July, September or December within a 60 month period of the current month.

Contracts are also block-trade eligible if the amounts are above minimum thresholds. These types of trades are privately negotiated and executed apart from the public market. They are only open to eligible contract participants as defined by the Commodity Exchange Act.

Copper cathode must conform to specific chemical and physical requirements in order to be traded on the COMEX. COMEX copper futures are settled via physical delivery upon expiration, but COMEX E-Mini copper futures are cash settled.

As with the LME, many banks, trading firms and commercial hedgers use COMEX copper for risk management purposes, and CME Group prides the COMEX on being a “global benchmark for copper prices” used by respected indices such as the Bloomberg Commodity Index.

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The importance of commodity exchanges

The LME and the COMEX are far from the only commodities exchanges on which copper is traded. The Shanghai Metal Exchange is another notable example, and with China being the largest consumer of refined copper in 2020 at 54 percent of global consumption, it is becoming increasingly important.

Indeed, as Stefan Ioannou of Cormark Securities has noted, it is near impossible to get complete transparency on copper prices. “Information on LME volumes is readily available, but keep in mind, the inventory is only one piece of about a six- or seven-piece pie,” he explained in an interview. “It does give a bit of an indication, but there’s also the COMEX, there’s the Shanghai, there are mine inventories, there’s recycling and then there are all the non-bonded stockpiles as well.”

Still, prices for LME copper and COMEX copper contracts, as well as information on inventory levels, can be a valuable piece of the puzzle for those making investment decisions in the copper space. For example, those investing in copper stocks may want to look at whether a company’s mining project is likely to be economic at current and/or forecasted copper prices.

Now that you know a bit more about the LME and COMEX copper prices, what else would you like to know about copper? Check out the articles in the sidebar above for more insight on the red metal before you begin (or continue) your investing journey:

This is an updated version of an article first published by the Investing News Network in 2015.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Melissa Pistilli, hold no investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

The post LME Copper vs. COMEX Copper appeared first on Investing News Network.

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