PANews reported on March 16 that, according to data from the London Metal Exchange (LME), all contract trading on the LME was suspended starting at 2:44 PM local time (10:44 PM Beijing time). Traders are awaiting more information about the cause of the outage and are unable to place orders across various markets, from aluminum to zinc. An LME spokesperson stated, "We are aware of the issue and are taking steps to resolve it as quickly as possible." This trading suspension occurred during a period of heightened volatility in the metals markets, as the war in Iran has disrupted the supply of industrial metals, including aluminum and zinc, and clouded the long-term demand outlook.