LONDON, Sept 4 Reuters The London Metal Exchange unveiled a set of proposed measures on Wednesday designed to boost electronic trading while also protecting its complex structure used for deals in physical metal.

The measures attempt to navigate a recurring tension between traditional physical users on the LME39;s openoutcry trading floor and the financial community which prefers electronic trading.

The exchange released a white paper detailing a liquidity provider programme, the introduction of block trade thresholds, new trading functionality and market data changes, it said in a statement.

The exchange, the world39;s oldest and largest market for industrial metals, said block limit rules would mean that smallsized trades on monthly dates would have to be executed on its electronic LMESelect system.

These futurefocused measures… seek to grow participation in our markets, and make our prices as representative and accessible as possible, while continuing to support physical market trading practices, Chief Executive Matthew Chamberlain said.

Key outcomes would be improved bidoffer spreads and better execution for clients, the exchange said.

The LME, owned by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd, said the new block limit rules would not apply to deals using the LME39;s daily prompt dates mainly used by physical users, such as miners and industrial consumers.

The LME39;s new version of its electronic system, which has been released for member testing, will…