Speaking at a press conference this morning, Martin Abbott, chief executive of the exchange, said it was progressing steadily towards becoming a global benchmark for the price of steel. "The LME steel price has quickly become an integral part of the steel industry and has begun to be referenced in physical scrap and reinforcement bar transactions," he said.

According to LME members, steel trading volumes on the non-cleared over-the-counter (OTC) markets have been quadruple that traded on the LME