London Metal Exchange Abandons Attempt to Crack Gold Market

  • Bourse’s gold and silver futures expected to stop on July 11
  • Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley were among banks involved

Traders in the open outcry pit at the London Metal Exchange in London, U.K.

Photographer: Jason Alden/Bloomberg
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The London Metal Exchange will abandon its attempt to break into precious-metal trading after just five years.

The LME -- the world’s biggest exchange for industrial metals -- partnered with banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Morgan Stanley in 2017 to launch the contracts. London is one of the two major centers of precious-metals trading, where trillions of dollars in gold, silver and associated derivatives change hands each year. It’s an almost entirely over-the-counter business, dominated by top bullion banks like JPMorgan Chase & Co. and HSBC Holdings.