Sumitomo causes LME to break tradition<\/p>\n
LONDON (Reuter): The London Metal Exchange, the hub of world
\nindustrial metals trading, broke a 118-year-old tradition on
\nMonday when it appointed a staff member to set the official
\nbenchmark prices on the trading floor.<\/p>\n
The change was prompted by a review of LME practices after the
\nscandal last year when Sumitomo Corp of Japan said it had lost
\nUS$2.6 billion in copper trading on what it alleged was rogue
\ndealings.<\/p>\n
It means that representatives of ring trading companies will
\nno longer set official prices.<\/p>\n
The reform, the first since the Sumitomo copper affair, was
\nintended to remove any appearance of a conflict of interest by
\ntrading companies holding market positions, LME officials said.
\nCommodity prices were mostly not much changed on Monday.<\/p>\n
In industrial metals copper saw early gains, but the red metal
\ndrifted back during the London afternoon to trade at 1715 GMT at
\naround $2,247.50 a ton as contract maturities came into play.
\nOther base metals remained little changed.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere in commodities world coffee prices eased, ending
\nlast week's fund-led rally, after funds took profits and
\nliquidated long positions ahead of looming contract maturities.<\/p>\n
London March futures for the Robusta type coffee ended at
\n$1,500 a ton, down on Friday's close of $1,542.00. But coffee
\nremains sharply up -by about 20 percent - from where it ended
\n1996 at $1,235.<\/p>\n
An export backlog of some 300,000 60-kg bags stranded after a
\ndockworker strike at key grower Colombia's Buenaventura port has
\nleft supply tight.<\/p>\n
German retail coffee prices may have to rise on the back of a
\nfirm dollar and higher raw material costs to coffee roasters, a
\nGerman coffee industry spokesman said.<\/p>\n
In precious metals gold continued to recover from last week's
\nslide to a 40-month low to fix in the London afternoon $1.10 up
\non Friday at $353.60 an ounce.<\/p>\n
The yellow metal saw light gains during the afternoon, and
\nclosed 65 cents up on Friday at $354.65 an ounce.<\/p>\n
London March futures for the world benchmark Brent Blend of
\ncrude oil traded easier after a decline last week as concerns
\nabout low stocks of heating fuel abated.<\/p>\n
World wheat prices were little changed, although Chicago wheat
\nfutures eased on diminished U.S. export prospects, after Egypt
\npurchased 110,000 tons of wheat from Australia rather than the
\nUnited States.<\/p>",
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