LME delays by seven weeks requirement for OTC reporting

LONDON (Reuters) -The London Metal Exchange will delay by seven weeks a requirement for members to report all over-the counter (OTC) positions, a move initiated after off-exchange trading was partly blamed for a wild spike in nickel prices in March.

The delay to Sept. 5 from the original implementation date of July 18 was to ensure that data is reported properly and accurately, the LME said in a statement on Friday.

"The LME has been in dialogue with a number of members and other interested parties who have raised concerns regarding the ability of members to meet the implementation date for the proposals," it said.

The LME, owned by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd, was forced to suspend nickel trading and cancel all deals on March 8 because of disorderly activity caused partly by a large OTC short nickel position.

The exchange said on June 17 that it would require members to report OTC positions on a weekly basis in all physically-delivered metals including aluminium, copper and nickel.

The LME, the world's oldest and largest market for industrial metals, had also announced that holders of large OTC positions would have to explain to the exchange the rationale for holding them.

Benchmark nickel on the LME doubled to a record above $100,000 a tonne on March 8 on expectations China's Tsingshan Holding Group and others would have to buy back their short positions, which are bets on prices falling.

British financial regulators in April launched a sweeping probe into how the LME suspended nickel trading and the LME also commissioned its own independent review.

U.S. hedge fund Elliott Associates and Jane Street Global Trading are suing the LME for $456 million and $15.3 million respectively for cancelled nickel trades.

(Reporting by Pratima Desai and Eric Onstad; Editing by Louise Heavens and Tomasz Janowski)