IG Index | Commodities Spread Betting | Commodities | Bet Details

London Metal Exchange - Three-Month Futures

We also offer the following 3-month metals futures on the London Metals Exchange (LME), dealable exclusively by phone.

Notes in [square brackets] are detailed in the 'Notes' tab.

London Metal Exchange: Times of Rings and Kerbs

On the LME, a Ring is a five-minute period during which one specified metal is traded on the floor of the exchange.

The Official Kerbs are the specified times during which, after the morning and afternoon Rings have finished, several or all of the metals are traded simultaneously on the floor of the exchange.

A screen-based trading system operates alongside the floor-based trading. While spreads may be tighter and the markets more liquid during the Ring, it is normally possible to deal any metal whether it is in the Ring or not.

The LME has an important peculiarity. The main quoted price for all LME metals is the so-called 3-month price, a price for metal to be delivered on a particular date in roughly ninety days’ time. The 3-month price quoted on, say, 3 July, and the 3-month price quoted on, say, 17 July, a couple of weeks later, are thus prices for different settlement and delivery dates. (This is in contrast to the situation in other commodity futures markets; ‘March Cocoa’, for example, has the same settlement date whether you deal in December or in February.)

This peculiarity has an important practical consequence when you bet on LME metals with IG Index. Say, for example, you ‘buy’ 3-month copper. A week later the price rises and you decide to take your profit. You cannot close your position simply by ‘selling’ 3-month copper, because the 3-month date is now a different day. Instead you have to ‘sell’ copper for the same date for which you ‘bought’ it. The price for this date is not normally the same as the current 3-month price. It may be lower, if the market is in ‘contango’, or higher, if the market is in ‘backwardation’. When metal is in short supply, backwardations can sometimes be very large. So you should be aware that it is possible to lose money on an LME bet even if the 3-month price has moved in your favour, or make money even if the 3-month price has moved against you.

Find here additional information applying to the bet details information tables. Where you see a number or letter in brackets on the tables, the corresponding note can be found below.

Notes

1) Daily oil bets expire without spread, if the Daily Autoroll flag is not set. All other bets expire plus or minus half the IG Index spread as follows:
  a) Brent Crude Oil based on the ICE Brent settlement price on the IG Index last dealing day.
  b) Cocoa (London), Coffee Robusta, White Sugar No.5 and London Wheat based on the settlement price of the relevant contract on LIFFE on the IG Index last dealing day.
  c) Aluminium, Copper, Lead, Nickel, Tin and Zinc based on the settlement price of the relevant metal on LME on the IG Index last dealing day.
  d) Cocoa (US), Coffee Arabica, Orange Juice, Sugar No.11, Cotton, and US Dollar Basket based on the settlement price of the relevant futures contract on NYBOT on the IG Index last dealing day.
  e) Light Crude Oil, Heating Oil, Natural Gas, No Lead Gasoline, Gold futures, Silver and High Grade Copper based on the settlement price of the relevant futures contract on COMEX on the IG Index last dealing day.
  f) Palladium and Platinum based on the settlement price of the relevant futures contract on NYMEX on the IG Index last dealing day.
  g) Corn, Oats, Soyabeans, Soyabean Meal, Soyabean Oil, Wheat and Rough Rice based on the settlement price of the relevant futures contract on CBOT on the IG Index last dealing day.
  h) Gas Oil and Carbon Emissions based on the settlement price of the relevant futures contract on ICE on the IG Index last dealing day.
  j) Live and Feeder Cattle, Lean Hogs, and Lumber based on the settlement price of the relevant futures contract on CME on the IG Index last dealing day.
  k) Gold futures expire on the fourth business day prior to the first day of the contract month.
  l) Milling Wheat and Rapeseed based on the settlement price of the relevant futures contract on Euronext on the IG Index last dealing day.

2) Any market spread may be added to the spread shown in the Information Table.

3) We generally only offer front month for most futures markets, and front 2 months for US Light Crude Oil and Brent Crude Oil futures.

4) The last dealing day shown here will not always coincide with the last dealing day of any relevant analogous exchange-traded futures contract. This is because contracts can become illiquid as they approach expiry and market spreads can widen considerably.

5) Spreads are subject to variation, especially in volatile market conditions.

6) Normal closing time for Brent Crude and US Light Crude markets is 19.30.

7) Bets on Live Cattle, Feeder Cattle and Lean Hogs are available for trading from 15.05 (London time) on the Monday of a normal business week, until the close of trading on Friday of the same, usually 19.55 (London time). Note that there is a break each day between 22.00 and 23.00 (London time).

8) Rollovers: Daily US Light and Brent Crude bets can be rolled over provided we receive your instruction at least 15 minutes before market closing time, or if the Daily Autoroll flag has been set.

For Spot Gold and Spot Silver the overnight funding adjustment is based on the tom-next spread including an admin fee of 0.0055% per day.
  a) Daily US Light Crude and Brent Crude: When Daily US Light Crude and Brent Crude are rolled over, the position is closed based on the middle of our price at 19.30 and reopened with a charge of 1 point for Non-Controlled Risk bets and 2 points for Controlled Risk bets.
  c) Futures: when Commodity Futures are rolled, normal bets are closed at the middle of our price, plus or minus half the normal IG Index spread, and are reopened at the middle of our price, plus or minus half IG Index spread with a 40% concession applied. Controlled Risk bets on Commodity Futures are closed at the middle of our price, plus or minus half the normal IG Index spread, and are reopened at the middle of our price, plus or minus half IG Index spread with a 40% concession applied, and plus or minus the Controlled Risk premium. (N.B. For most commodity future rolls, the middle of our closing and re-opening prices will be based upon the prior day’s market settlement price for the relevant contracts).
  d) Stops and Limits: If you have a Stop or a Limit Order on a Spot position when it is rolled over, we will, unless instructed otherwise, place the Stop or Limit on the new bet at the same level as the Stop or Limit on the expiring bet. If the new bet is based on a different contract month we will adjust the Stop or Limit for fair value. If you have Stops or Limits on a Futures bet when it is rolled over, we will, unless otherwise instructed, place the Stop or Limit on the new bet at the same level, but adjusted for fair value. For example, if the price of the new contract is 20 points higher than the expiring contract, your Stop or Limit would be rolled forward at your existing level plus 20 points. This applies to both guaranteed and non-guaranteed Stops and Limits.

9) Please note that tiered deposits apply; this means that higher deposits may be required for large positions. See our Tiered Deposits page for further details. You can find the tiered deposits for each market from the Get Info section in our trading platform.

10) Bets on Lumber are available for trading from 15.00 (London time) on the Monday of a normal business week, until the close of trading on Friday of the same, usually 19.55 (London time). Note that there is a break each day between 22.00 and 23.00 (London time).