Turkey to become a major hub for London Metal Exchange

Turkish Daily News - The London Metal Exchange, the world's number one non-ferrous market, is officially launching its futures trading in steel April 28 and Martin Abbott, the man in charge, has good news for Turkish producers, traders and investors alike.

Turkey is going to be one of the four major hubs for the LME, he told the Turkish Daily News in Istanbul, a city he and his colleagues have become increasingly acquainted with in the last few months. The LME, founded in 1877, has been offering futures contracts for aluminum, copper, nickel, tin, zinc, lead and even plastics up to now.

The place of Turkey in the picture comes mainly in the form of warehouses. LME approves warehouses around the world for delivery Abbott explained. "We will deal with steel warehouses in Turkey, Dubai, South Korea and Malaysia. Turkey occupies a pivotal position in steel billet. It is an exporter, importer, a producer and a processor into rebar. Also, it is geographically located between Ukraine, North Africa and the Middle East" he noted.