CME Group says happy to submit proposal to run gold fix

LONDON (Reuters) - The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) said on Thursday it would be happy to administer, with Thomson Reuters, the global price benchmark for gold known as the "fix", after its current operator said it was looking for a third party.

CME Group and Thomson Reuters were named last week as the new operators of the electronic silver benchmark that will also include an increased number of participants, in a move likely to precede sweeping reforms of the way precious metals are priced.

"Having won the silver price mandate in partnership with Thomson Reuters, CME Group would be delighted to be part of this proposal process with Thomson Reuters and look forward to engaging with the London Gold market participants," CME managing director of metals products Harriet Hunnable said in a statement.

(Reporting By Clara Denina and Jan Harvey; editing by Tom Pfeiffer)