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The London Metal Exchange (LME) announced on July 28 that it has completed the merger of its Mediterranean and Far East steel billet contracts into a single global contract. 
 
Accordingly, the new contract recognizes steel as a global industrial commodity. Since the decision to merge the two contracts was announced in December 2009, as SteelOrbis previously reported, trading in the LME's Mediterranean contract has surged by 385 percent year on year in the first six months of 2010. Up to July 27, 72,202 lots have been traded this year, equivalent to 4.7 million metric tons and $2.2 billion.
 
To further support this market, the LME is also expanding its network of storage facilities and delivery locations. In June, the LME decided to list New Orleans, US as a good delivery point for the global steel billet contract with effect from July 29. LME is also considering several other locations in Europe and the US.
 
Commenting on the merging of the contracts, LME's head of business development Chris Evans said, "The decision to merge the two steel contracts into one has been met with a very strong response by the industry worldwide. The addition of New Orleans as a US delivery location will undoubtedly add further momentum, while post-recession growth will encourage new demand for transparent price referencing and risk management."