Author: Paul Ploumis03 Feb 2015 Last updated at 04:27:03 GMT

(Kitco News) - The Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) will be administering the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) gold fix in March 2015, when it will replace the London Gold Fix, which has been used since 1919.

Previously announced in late 2014, the exchange’s ICE Benchmark Administration (IBA) will head the pricing mechanism, which it said will transition to a physically settled, electronic and tradeable auction, with the ability to participate in three currencies: USD, EUR and GBP.

“We are encouraged by the number of firms who have shown interest in being participants in the new, electronic auction,” said Finbarr Hutcheson, president of the IBA. “Expanding the number of participants in the auction will increase the transparency and robustness of the data used to calculate the benchmark, giving a better representation of the market price.”

The IBA said that aggregated gold bids and offers will be updated in real-time with the imbalance calculated and the price updated every 30 seconds. The process will done using ICE’s WebICE platform, which will provide participants, and sponsored clients, the means to real-time auctions.

“The intention and the interest has been very positive and creates a more diverse pool of participants which includes Chinese bank,” says Ruth Crowell, chief executive at the LBMA. “We look forward to having enhanced numbers of participants for day one for the LBMA Gold Price.”

Courtesy: Kitco News