LME(London Metal Exchange) Sets the Price Limits after Nickel Market Broke

Nickel prices soared 250 percent in 24 hours, messing up the industry, triggering billions of dollars in losses for traders betting wrong, and causing the London Metal Exchange to suspend trading for the first time in three decades. 

It marks the first major market failure since Russia's invasion of Ukraine that has shaken global markets and shows how a global chain reaction has occurred in weeks to remove one of the world's largest exporters of resources from the financial system.“This was the most disorderly move in a metal I’ve seen in my career,” says Mark Hansen, chief executive officer of trading house Concord Resources Ltd.

When Russia invaded Ukraine, everything changed. Russia is the world's third-largest nickel producer and its largest exporter of refined nickel metals, LME deliverables. Although Russian nickel exports have not become the target of sanctions, American and European buyers are still seeking alternatives to Russian sources.

Nickel will resume trading within the fixed price range of the London Metal Exchange ( LME ) for the first time on Wednesday after the extreme fluctuation of prices triggered a rare market closure last week. 

LME stopped trading nickel and canceled the deal, before the price doubled on March 8, reaching more than $ 100,000 per ton. In the case of the surge, the source accused one of the world's top producers of short-back. At 0800 GMT on Wednesday, the price of nickel will be limited to 5 percent above or below the final closing price before the suspension, LME said% 

The exchange also imposed 15 % restrictions on other basic metals ( including aluminum, copper, lead, tin, and zinc ) from Tuesday, the first time LME imposed restrictions on direct contracts in its 145-year history.