London (Platts)--22Feb2012/816 am EST/1316 GMT
The London Metal Exchange has registered record open interest for cobalt two years after the launch of the minor metal contract, the exchange said Wednesday. Market open interest for the LME cobalt contract reached a record 544 lots in February 2012. Cobalt volumes on the LME have been strong with 14,574 lots traded since the contract launched on February 22, 2010. This is equivalent to $540 million, the exchange said. Article continues below... Request a free trial of Metals Week Offering more than 350 prices, complete news coverage, and in-depth analysis of market developments around the world, Metals Week delivers the critical insights you need to make profitable decisions. This detailed package of reports will help you monitor global events and quickly spot opportunities or potential pitfalls for major metals, precious metals, light metals, steel and ferroalloys and minor metals.
The London Metal Exchange has registered record open interest for cobalt two years after the launch of the minor metal contract, the exchange said Wednesday. Market open interest for the LME cobalt contract reached a record 544 lots in February 2012. Cobalt volumes on the LME have been strong with 14,574 lots traded since the contract launched on February 22, 2010. This is equivalent to $540 million, the exchange said.
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Offering more than 350 prices, complete news coverage, and in-depth analysis of market developments around the world, Metals Week delivers the critical insights you need to make profitable decisions. This detailed package of reports will help you monitor global events and quickly spot opportunities or potential pitfalls for major metals, precious metals, light metals, steel and ferroalloys and minor metals.
The other minor metal contract, molybdenum, has traded 1,103 lots (6,618 mt) since its launch alongside the cobalt contract in 2010. This is equivalent to $227 million over the period. Brand registration has been good with a total of 18 cobalt brands and eight molybdenum brands registered since the launch of the contracts. Chris Evans, Head of Business Development at the LME, said: "The minor metals contracts have had another strong year, particularly LME Cobalt which reached record volumes in December. We hope volumes and liquidity will develop further over the coming months as market users increasingly value our transparent pricing and risk management solutions." There are 14 warehouses listed for good delivery in four locations across four countries for the minor metals contracts. A total of 1,748 mt of cobalt stock has been turned over since the contract was launched with 1,022 mt delivered in and 726 mt delivered out, the exchange said. Over the same period, 612 mt of LME Molybdenum stocks have been turned over, with 444 mt delivered in and 168 mt delivered out.--Greg Smart, greg_smart@platts.com
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