At the 2026 Lujiazui Forum, the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) officially authorized the London Metal Exchange (LME) to launch a new futures contract based on SHFE’s hot-rolled coil (HRC) futures settlement price.

Under the agreement, the LME plans to list the LME Shanghai HRC Contract in London this October. The move will allow global investors to directly use Shanghai’s HRC futures prices for trading and risk management, marking a major step in the internationalization of commodity futures markets through settlement-price licensing.

Since its launch in 2014, SHFE’s HRC futures contract has become the world’s largest steel flat-product futures market and a key pricing benchmark for imports of Chinese steel in the Asia-Pacific, Middle East, and South America.

Hot-rolled coil, widely used in construction, automobiles, shipbuilding, and home appliances, is China’s largest steel product by output, with annual production reaching around 300 million tons.