In March of 2022, a crisis transpired on the London Metal Exchange. It revolved around a colossal short position that one market participant amassed in nickel, betting that the price would fall. Instead, it surged. The resulting liabilities were so staggering that the whole exchange was at risk of collapse. To prevent implosion, the LME retroactively annulled several trades.
Elliott Associates, a US-based hedge fund, brought a lawsuit against the LME claiming that the exchange acted unlawfully in cancelling those transactions. Jane Street Global Trading also sued for damages.
This past June, the claimants had their day in court—three, actually—as they argued their case in London’s High Court. The judges recessed to take up their review and kept the world waiting for months. Last week the verdict came in. The Court ruled in favor of the LME.
In the written decision, the judges affirmed the LME’s obligation to maintain orderly markets and endorsed its use of powers to achieve that end. This, the judges stated, includes cancelling transactions.
For the rest of this article: https://www.mining.com/op-ed-everyone-loses-as-londons-high-court-rules-for-lme-in-nickel-case/