Brady plc Cites Upswing in Steel Futures Trading

Brady plc, a leading supplier of trading and risk management applications for metals and commodities, said it's seeing a significant increase in electronic trading, hedging and risk management of steel futures contracts so far this year. This observation is in line with the London Metal Exchange (LME) recording record trading levels and substantial growth (72 percent since the start of the year) in Market Open Interest (MOI).

In a recent statement, the LME confirmed that 2010 has seen three of the most highly traded days for the exchange's Mediterranean contract, which was launched in February 2008. At the same time, the Brussels-based World Steel Association, whose members produce approximately 85 percent of the world's steel, reported that steel production in January 2010 was more than 25 percent higher than the same period last year, noted the Brady release.

"The increase in steel production shows healthy green shoots in the world economy and represents substantial areas of potential growth for Brady," stated Gavin Lavelle CEO of Brady plc in the release. "Combined with the exponential growth in electronic trading, the renewed buoyancy of the steel market is leading many of our clients to increase their use of our technology as they seek the benefits of a single-source- solution approach for their highly com9plex trading, hedging and risk management requirements," further stated Lavelle in the company's release.

A similar expansion in steel futures trading is being observed on the Shanghai market with China's steel futures, where the steel market is based on the heavy demand for the steel products, rebars and wire rods required in the ongoing industrialization and urbanization process in China and where there is significant need for the price of steel to be less volatile, according to Brady's release. In China, the increase in trading of steel futures is thought to enable this decrease in volatility, according to Brady. Ivy is Editor-at-Large for Advanced Trading and Wall Street & Technology. Ivy is responsible for writing in-depth feature articles, daily blogs and news articles with a focus on automated trading in the capital markets. As an industry expert, Ivy has reported on a myriad ... View Full Bio