LME Forum 2026

Wood Mackenzie hosted its annual LME Forum in London on 21 October 2026, bringing together analysts and senior industry voices to examine the forces reshaping metals markets at a time when geopolitics, trade policy and the energy transition are driving outcomes as much as traditional fundamentals. Across keynote interviews, panel discussions and analyst spotlights, the forum explored the macro backdrop of conflict, AI and demographics, the implications of surging power demand and electrification, and commodity-level outlooks for copper, zinc, nickel and aluminium, alongside a dedicated session on battery technology, energy storage costs and lithium. High-profile external contributors included representatives from Alcoa, Jefferies, Bloomberg Intelligence, Appian, BMO and the Argentine Secretariat of Mining, with debate focusing on which metals stand to win or lose in a fractured world and how government policy is redrawing the critical minerals map.