A new company, NFEx Markets, plans to launch a base metals trading platform in the first quarter of next year that will mimic the London Metal Exchange's (LME) forward contracts, in an attempt to attract physical trade, the company said on Monday. NFEx, incorporated in March this year and with registered offices in London's financial district, will operate the digital platform built by Autilla, a financial technology firm operating in commodities.
Mike Greenacre, Autilla's chief executive, said NFEx would copy the LME's offering and that Martin Abbott, a former chief executive at the LME, was a senior advisor. "Contracts and trade dates will match established physical industry practice," the company said in a release. "This new trading platform will not replace or disturb current trading models but will be complementary to them." Volumes on the LME have fallen since a large increase in trading fees in 2015 pushed some trading activity to over-the-counter markets.