LME trading floor to go quiet

LONDON: In an era where algorithms automate trading at breakneck speed, a dwindling number of London's metal traders still conduct business in-person by shouting orders across Europe's last so-called open-outcry trading floor.

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The nearly 150-year-old tradition takes place in a circle, or pit, of red-leather benches — which is called the "Ring" — where the daily global prices of copper, nickel, aluminium and other metals are set at the London Metal Exchange (LME).

Seconds before the frantic trading begins, a trader rushes in, puts on a tie as per the obligatory dress code, and heads towards one of the booths circling the Ring.

Then, sheets of pencilled figures and stock market orders are handed out.

Once the bell rings, signalling the start of trading, no one is allowed to trade online or use mobile phones; they can only communicate with the outside world via landline phones.

The five minutes of trading per metal is "a bit like playing poker", said Giles Plumb, a trader at financial services firm StoneX, who has run his portfolio for 21 years.

It starts off calm, with seemingly unbothered traders sitting quietly.