Introduction to the London Metal Exchange (LME) and Hedging

A solid introduction to the LME and using LME instruments to manage price risk

Course Overview

This course is delivered over 5 half-days in a virtual setting.

Learning about the London Metal Exchange (LME)

This course offers a practical introduction to all things LME including futures, options, pricing and price discovery, hedging, contract and metal specifications, date structure, trading venues and access, terminology and history. The knowledge and skills gained through this program are both theoretical and practical, and can be easily applied in your workplace.

The course will also cover the accepted metal formats for delivery, the warehousing network, and the practical aspects of moving metal within the LME system. Additionally, the course provides detailed insights into the applications of LME warrants.


What will you learn? 

  • Become familiar with the LME’s prompt date structure and trading procedures

  • Gain a full understanding of the LME’s market terminology

  • Understand the benefits of the delivery process used by the LME

  • Gain an understanding of the benefits of clearing and the role of LME Clear

  • Learn how to access the LME through member firms and the role of a broker

  • Understand what futures and options are

  • What it means for a contract to be physically settled or cash-settled, and how to use each type

  • The fundamentals of warrants

  • How to identify the risk position of a company

  • How to reduce risk using futures and options

  • Differentiate between types of hedges and choose the right hedging instrument

  • What carries are, and what borrowing and lending mean

  • Basics of option pricing

Course Details

Location
Virtual

Dates
8-12 September 2025 (5 half-days)

8AM EST

Price
$2,500

Course Highlights

  • History, background and role of the LME

  • LME futures, monthly averages and option contracts

  • LME prices and prompt dates

  • Trading at the LME

  • The role of an LME broker/dealer

  • Warehousing and fundamentals of delivery

  • Clearing and LME Clear

  • Regulation of the LME

  • Introduction to risk positions and price volatility

  • LME physically settled futures

  • LME cash-settled futures

  • Dealing with averages

  • LME monthly average futures

  • Carries, borrowing and lending

  • Options terminology

  • Combining futures and options

  • Trading strategies

Trainer Biography

Samuel has over 15 years of experience in the commodities industry.

He began his career at Trafigura in Switzerland where he gained experience as a physical operator before being promoted to the deals (hedging) desk. In this role, he mitigated the outright price, arbitrage (CME/LME), and spread risks for the North and South American refined and concentrates markets across all base metals and FX exposures.

At 24, Samuel became one of the youngest physical traders in Trafigura’s history. During this time, he built out and traded the refined lead and zinc books for the domestic US market, increasing the book size by 500% by building a portfolio of over 300,000mt/annum.

In 2019, Samuel joined Greenwich Metals Inc (GMI), where he built the derivatives desk from the ground up. He provided an internal brokerage to hedge GMI's physical positions, mitigating the group’s risk across refined base metals, scrap metals, concentrates, precious metals, and FX. He built a successful proprietary trading book taking speculative positions across base metals on both the LME and CME exchanges, FX, and precious metals. He combined his fundamental knowledge with quantitative, systematic trading to develop long and short-term strategies that generated significant returns. While at GMI, he was on the risk committee and held company-wide seminars on managing risk across various futures exchanges and products.

In 2023, Samuel took his 15 years of trading knowledge and created Perfectly Hedged LLC. Perfectly Hedged is a consultancy and training firm that simplifies and explains hedging; a misunderstood subject often viewed as highly technical and the cause of avoidable, costly mistakes.

Samuel authored the book, "Perfectly Hedged A Practical Guide To Base Metals", a comprehensive look at hedging in commodity firms. It is targeted to middle and back-office staff and utilizes real-world scenarios that employees will encounter daily.

With hands-on knowledge of middle and back-office functions, he is well-equipped to address industry challenges and opportunities.

Samuel holds a BSc (Hons) in Economics from the University of Loughborough, UK.