The world's oldest and largest market for industrial metals said in a statement that these were its first fee hikes since January 2020 and inflation since then was 23%.

"We recognise our customers' and market participants' cost pressures, so we have applied a considerably lower-than-inflation rise to this first fee increase in four years," said Chief Executive Matthew Chamberlain.

Fees will be frozen for short-dated "carry" fees and trading on the LME trading floor, one of the only open-outcry venues left in the world, the 146-year-old exchange said.

"Both of these demonstrate our commitment to the physical market, which is at the heart of our business," Chamberlain added.

The LME, owned by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd., will nearly double its financial OTC (over the counter) booking fee to $2.24.

That will create a "level playing field" between those who book OTC trades that reference LME prices and trading on the exchange, the LME said.

A trader, commenting on the fee hikes, said: "Not very helpful in the current environment."

(Reporting by Eric Onstad and Pratima Desai; Editing by Jason Neely, Elaine Hardcastle)