London Metal Exchange is back with gold and silver contracts after 30 years

Three decades after London’s exchange-traded gold contract flopped, it’s coming back.

The London Metal Exchange, along with the World Gold Council and a group of banks and trading firms, are starting a new venture called LMEprecious, which will introduce centrally-cleared gold and silver contracts in the first half of next year, and later add platinum and palladium.

The LME is moving into gold to capture part of the $5 trillion over-the-counter market in London, the global hub for trading the metal, as regulators push for more regulation over commodities trading and centralised clearing.

The LME has been considering expanding into precious metal contracts for years while the World Gold Council has explored the possibility of introducing exchange-trading since early 2015. The LME’s previous attempt at trading gold lasted three years with the venture, London Gold Futures Market, closing in 1985.