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An Audience With

LME chief Matthew Chamberlain: ‘There’s always going to be criticism when you make a decision’

Two years on from the LME nickel crisis, its boss reflects on the fateful day and rebuilding its reputation

Matthew Chamberlain has been the chief executive of the London Metal Exchange since 2017
Matthew Chamberlain has been the chief executive of the London Metal Exchange since 2017 Photo: Danilo Agutoli for FN

It is 5:30am when Matthew Chamberlain wakes up on 8 March 2022. He scrolls through his phone for 20 minutes — nickel prices have surged to more than $100,000 per tonne. It dawns on him that the market is disorderly. This realisation will later lead to London Metal Exchange’s cancelling $12bn in nickel trades that day.

At least, that is what Elliott Management and Jane Street’s lawyers argued at the Royal Courts of Justice in June when they sued the LME for $470m.

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