The Metals Exchange in the capital of Foggy Albion acts as a barometer of global prices for non-ferrous metals. In the heart of England, London, there is a large financial institution whose representatives carry out the pricing of metals such as aluminum, zinc, tin, copper, lead and nickel. Based on the quotes of this exchange, most Ukrainian enterprises form prices for non-ferrous metals. For example, such metal trading enterprises include Imetal LLC https://imetalua.com .
The exchange was founded in 1887, although its origins date back to the Royal Exchange, operating under the British Queen Elizabeth I. In the middle of the 19th century, England was considered a leading producer of tin and copper. The history of the exchange's development includes several interesting stages.
Supplied materials from the British colonies located in Africa, Asia and South America. Naturally, shipping materials by sea was associated with a huge risk for both buyers and sellers, which greatly influenced the pricing policy. Over time, new technologies entered life, and transportation became much safer, since using the telephone, suppliers and sellers could actively negotiate deals and terms of delivery of goods. Trade volumes grew annually, allowing sellers to get together and actively negotiate profitable trades.
Before founding a metal exchange, traders met in a small cafe in the very heart of the city. A little later, for greater convenience, the sellers created an exchange, which opened in 1877 in the courthouse. The term of transactions was reduced to a specific period (for example, urgent delivery went to the destination in three months). Soon, or rather in 1882, the non-ferrous metal exchange took its place in a building on the famous Whittington Avenue. Here, representatives of the exchange made their transactions up to moving to Plantation House.
At the moment, the London Stock Exchange, which was registered in 1887, is located at 56 Ledenhall Street. At the very beginning, only the sale of tin and copper was made on the exchange. Silver, this noble metal, has gone through several stages of trading. In 1897, they began to actively make deals for the sale of silver, then the trade in this metal began to decline and, then resumed, then faded again, lasted until the summer of 1989. Interestingly, zinc and lead were unofficially traded even before 1920, when it was officially allowed. In 1978, they began to actively trade in aluminum, a couple of years later - in nickel.
The most interesting thing is that most of the successful deals were made not within the walls of the metal exchange, but after its closure, since brokers take responsibility and can sell and buy contracts for non-ferrous metals