THE chief executive of the London Metal Exchange (LME) sought to calm nerves on the copper market by reiterating that the fall of the world's most powerful copper trader will not disrupt it unduly.

His remarks came ahead of the LME's re-opening for business today. Some traders are bracing themselves for more turbulence following recent unprecedented price volatility.

I am confident that the situation can be resolved in a satisfactory manner without causing disruption in the marketplace," the exchanges chief executive, Mr David King, said yesterday.

Last Thursday Japan's Sumitomo Corporation announced $1.8 billion losses in copper dealing accumulated over ten years by Mr Yasuo Hamanaka, dubbed by traders as "Mr Five Percent" because of the proportion of the market he controlled.

The news sent shockwaves across the copper industry, and prices plunged to two year lows early on Friday. The fall was the latest in a series of huge price moves.

Benchmark three month copper futures hit a recent peak of $2,715 a tonne in early May but were at a then two year low of $1,880 on June 6th. The market rallied to $2,278 on June 11th only to hit a low of $1,860 last Friday and end the week at $1,980.

Major factors behind the fluctuations have been the rum ours and counter rum ours over Mr Hamanaka's fate at Sumitomo and what positions he held in the market.

Traders and analysts now fear that the market will undergo more volatility as people adjust to life post Hamanaka.