Nickel Trade Falls Silent in Throwback to LME’s Darkest Days
- CEO says some brokers would have struggled if trades stood
- LME last suspended one of its contracts during 1985 Tin Crisis
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For nearly a century and a half -- with only a handful of interruptions -- the London Metal Exchange has been the place where global prices are set for industrial metals from aluminum to zinc.
At 8:15 a.m. on Tuesday morning, that stopped. The LME suspended trading in nickel, used to make stainless steel and electric-vehicle batteries, after prices spiked as much as 250% in two sessions. More shocking for many in the market: the exchange later announced it would cancel all trades that took place in the hours before the halt.