London Metals Exchange halts trading amid 'technical outage'

By Leslie Hook Financial Times, London Monday, March 16, 2026 Trading was halted for nearly three hours on the London Metal Exchange on Monday afternoon due to a technical outage, during a period when the Iran war has triggered unusually high volatility for commodity prices. All electronic contracts on the exchange -- which include copper, aluminium, nickel, and other metals -- stopped trading at about 2.44 p.m. local time, according to data from LSEG. Dealing resumed at 5.30 p.m. ... Dispatch continues below ... ... ADVERTISEMENT ... First Majestic Mines Silver and Gold,  Mints Its Own Silver Bars, Ingots, Coins, and Medallions, and Sells Them Online at Low Premiums First Majestic is a publicly traded mining company focused on silver and gold production in Mexico and the United States. The company owns and operates four producing underground mines in Mexico: the Cerro Los Gatos Silver Mine (the company holds a 70% interest in the Los Gatos Joint Venture that owns and operates the mine), the Santa Elena Silver and Gold Mine, the San Dimas Silver and Gold Mine, and the La Encantada Silver Mine, as well as a portfolio of development and exploration assets, including the Jerritt Canyon gold project in northeastern Nevada, U.S.A. In 2025 these mines are projected to produce between 27.8 to 31.2 million silver-equivalent ounces, consisting of 13.6 to 15.3 million ounces of silver and 129,000 to 144,000 ounces of gold, with an all-in sustaining cost of $19.89 to $21.27 per payable silver-equivalent ounce. For more information about the company, visit: https://www.firstmajestic.com In a practice unique to First Majestic, the company is proud to manufacture exceptional silver bullion products from its 100%-owned and operated minting facility, First Mint, offering a portion of its own silver production for sale to the public. Bars, ingots, coins, and medallions are available for purchase online at the company's bullion store at low premiums. To review First Mint’s full product range, visit: https://www.firstmint.com "The LME's primary electronic matching engine encountered an issue at 14.43, which caused electronic trading to enter a technical halt," the exchange said in a statement, adding that the issue "affected the ability of market participants to hedge at the relevant prices." The LME, founded in 1877 and owned by Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing, is the world's largest market for physical metals trading and sets the benchmark price for many base metals. The exchange reported a brief outage on January 30, which caused it to delay the start of trading by one hour. Rival CME separately experienced a 10-hour outage in November. ... ... For the remainder of the report: https://www.ft.com/content/8f2c2878-72b1-4325-8a68-c028fe76ca63 * * * Support GATA by purchasing Stuart Englert's "Rigged" "Rigged" is a concise explanation of government's currency market rigging policy and extensively credits GATA's work exposing it. Ten percent of sales proceeds are contributed to GATA. Buy a copy for $14.99 through Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Rigged-Exposing-Largest-Financial%20-History/dp/1651405204/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_2?keywords=rugged+stuart+englert&qid=1579708888&sr=8-2-fkmr1 * * * Help keep GATA going: GATA is a civil rights and educational organization based in the United States and tax-exempt under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Its e-mail dispatches are free, and you can subscribe at: http://www.gata.org To contribute to GATA, please visit: http://www.gata.org/node/16 Donations of $500 or more will entitle the donor to a 1-ounce silver round commemorating GATA's work: https://www.gata.org/sites/default/files/GATA-silver-round-front.png