In a press release yesterday the London Metal Exchange announced that from 29 September prompt dates for five of the six primary metal contracts would be extended. The longest dated contracts for aluminium and copper will be pushed out to 123 months or 10 years from 63 months currently. The zinc and nickel prompt date will be extended to 63 months from 27 months, while lead will run to 63 months from 15 months. However the furthest forward prompt date for tin will remain at 15 months.
Commenting on the move to Reuters, a trader said: “The pension funds will be interested — they are keen to buy that far forward – along with some hedge funds. Transparent prices will also appeal to those developing projects whose backers require a degree of hedging.”
However such interest is not yet evident in tin, which has seen very little trading activity beyond the traditional three months contract.
