Trading in nickel resumed on Wednesday on the London Metal Exchange after a lengthy pause linked to the Ukraine crisis but was quickly suspended again after a sharp fall. Nickel stopped trading having swiftly breached a new five per cent daily price movement limit to stand at $43,995 per tonne on the LME.
“Following re-open, the market moved to its limit-down pricing band,” the exchange said in a statement. We have now halted the electronic market to investigate a potential issue with the limit-down band, and will update the market in due course.”
Nickel, used in stainless steel and electric vehicle batteries, spiked on March 8 to a then-record high of $101,365 per tonne on a bad bet from a Chinese billionaire following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, the LME subsequently decided to cancel all trades made that day and halted trading.
That leaves nickel’s record high at $48,002 per tonne, set March 7.
Moscow’s invasion sparked market chaos last week owing to supply concerns in Russia, the world’s third-biggest nickel producer. The metal’s price, already soaring, was catapulted even higher by a bad pricing call from Chinese billionaire Xiang Guangda.
Guangda — owner of the world’s biggest nickel producer Tsingshan Holding Group — had bet on nickel prices falling since late last year but was blindsided by the Ukraine war.
A short squeeze occurs when investors bet on falling prices but are then forced to close out their positions and purchase at a far higher price, triggering a spike.
Source: eNCA
In other news – Mzansi’s greatest family speaks out after car crash
Mzansi’s greatest family, The Nkoanes is grateful to God after surviving a car accident.
The news was made known through their Facebook revealing that Tebogo “Mommy” and Kgosi were the ones involved in the accident on Monday, 14 March. Learn more
