London silver fix to lose its lustre in August
ALMOST 120 years of trading history will come to an end in August, when one of the last setters of the London silver fix market – an integral part of the city’s £1 trillion-a-year silver market – gets rid of its seats.
Deutsche Bank said yesterday that it had agreed with the Financial Conduct Authority to postpone its resignation until the summer, having announced in January that it was exiting the gold and silver fix market as part of its withdrawal from most of its commodities business.
The last two remaining participants, HSBC and Bank of Nova Scotia, will also keep setting prices through a teleconference every day at noon until the market halts on 14 August after 117 years in operation.
“The London Bullion Market Association has expressed willingness to assist with discussions among market participants with a view to exploring whether the market wishes to develop an alternative to the London Silver Fixing,” the organisation that runs the benchmark said yesterday.
Meanwhile, the price of silver rose to its highest level in a month yesterday, to $19.78 an ounce – or 1.2 per cent.