By Mark Burton | Updated on Oct 07, 2026 at 10:48 AM
Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has launched new gold futures contracts in London, in the latest effort to expand trading in a market built on over-the-counter deals that’s dominated by a handful of global banks.
The US-based exchange operator this week started offering daily 100-ounce gold futures, aligning the contracts with the large-format bars that underpin spot trading in London. It’s also launched daily futures for silver, platinum and palladium.
The world’s biggest bullion market remains in the hands of a small network of banks and brokerages trading in spot contracts and over-the-counter forwards, while exchange-traded gold futures are well established in rival hubs in New York and Shanghai. JPMorgan Chase & Co. and HSBC Holdings Plc are two of the London market’s dominant players.
It’s a system that’s been criticized for its relative opacity and high barriers to entry, but establishing a rival futures-based platform has proven challenging in the past.
The London Metal Exchange made inroads in 2017 with the launch of gold contracts backed by major dealers including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Societe Generale SA. After an initial burst of activity, however, trading volumes declined steadily and the contracts were discontinued in 2022.
ICE — which already runs the daily auctions that set the benchmark for bullion prices in London — also launched an associated futures contracts in 2016, while CME Group Inc. set up a contract in 2020 to support trading in London’s 100-ounce bars, which are favored by large institutions and investors. Both contracts struggled to gain traction.