1. Report Industry Investment Rating There is no information about the report industry investment rating provided in the content. 2. Core Viewpoints of the Report The report provides an in - depth introduction to the LME copper futures rules, including background, trading rules, and delivery rules, aiming to help investors understand and participate in LME copper futures trading [12]. 3. Summary According to the Table of Contents 01 Background Introduction - **LME Introduction**: The London Metal Exchange is the world's industrial metal trading center, a wholly - owned subsidiary of HKEX. It trades metals such as copper, aluminum, etc., and its prices and inventories significantly impact global non - ferrous metal production and sales [18]. - **LME Copper Contract**: The copper contract has a code of CA, a unit of 25 tons, and is quoted in US dollars per ton. It has various contract months, with physical delivery. The trading time varies, and the last trading day ends at the first - round trading before the expiration date. The delivery currency includes the US dollar, yen, etc., and the delivery standard is A - grade copper [20]. - **Importance of Copper and LME's Role**: Copper is crucial for electrical systems and green technologies. LME copper futures have good liquidity and market depth, with a trading term up to 10 years. It enables precise hedging and uses the official LME price as the global benchmark [21]. 02 Trading Rules - **Contract Types**: There are daily contracts (for within 3 months, with delivery on each London weekday), weekly contracts (for 4 - 6 months, with delivery on Wednesdays), and monthly contracts (for 7 months and above, with delivery on the third Wednesday of each month) [24]. - **Trading Types**: There are three trading types: ring trading (an open - outcry, in - person trading method for specific contracts), telephone trading (24 - hour off - exchange trading), and electronic trading (LME Select, allowing trading of standard 3M contracts from 08:00 - 02:00 (Beijing time), winter time + 1) [26]. - **Swap Business**: Swap means adjusting two contracts with different maturity dates to the same date. It includes borrowing (buying near - term contracts and selling far - term contracts) and lending (selling near - term contracts and buying far - term contracts). Swap results in premiums or discounts based on market supply and demand. The fee rules depend on the time of the swap [30]. 03 Delivery Rules - **Buying Delivery (Taking Delivery)**: - **Pre - delivery Preparation**: Determine delivery requirements, establish long futures positions, prepare funds, and match special requirements if necessary [37]. - **Delivery Execution**: It involves multiple steps such as expressing delivery intention, confirming funds, receiving and allocating or exchanging warehouse receipts, and transferring funds. After that, manage warehouse receipts, receive delivery receipts, and arrange for the pick - up of goods [40]. - **Selling Delivery (Delivering to the Warehouse)**: - **Pre - delivery Preparation**: Confirm the compliance of goods, establish short futures positions, store goods in approved warehouses and register warehouse receipts, and submit delivery intentions [47]. - **Delivery Execution**: Submit registered warehouse receipts, have the clearinghouse verify and lock short positions, receive payment from the exchange, transfer warehouse receipt ownership, receive settlement vouchers, settle fees, and plan for follow - up operations [50]. - **Precautions**: The delivery price is based on the LME delivery settlement price, with additional premiums for the specified - goods mode. Warehouse receipts need to be legally transferred through the clearinghouse. Delivery fees should be confirmed in advance, and swap operations can be used to postpone delivery time if necessary [58]. - **Delivery Warehouses**: LME has over 450 approved delivery warehouses in 34 locations globally. Asian warehouses are mainly in South Korea, Malaysia, etc. In Hong Kong, there are 8 approved delivery warehouses as of December 2025 [66]. - **Position Limits**: Different LME metal futures and options have corresponding default position limits, such as 100 lots for copper futures (CA - F) and 50 lots for copper options (CA - O) [70].