Commodities

LME Seeks to Move on From Nickel Crisis as Traders Return

  • Liquidity has improved, volatility decreased in nickel market
  • Overall trading volumes are showing signs of return to growth

The trading floor of the open outcry pit at the London Metal Exchange.

Photographer: Jason Alden/Bloomberg
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The chief executive of the London Metal Exchange says he’s optimistic that the 146-year-old trading venue is beginning to move on from the nickel crisis that threatened to destroy it.

It’s been a turbulent 19 months since Matthew Chamberlain responded to a runaway short squeeze by suspending the world’s benchmark nickel market and canceling $12 billion of trades. The controversial decisions drove angry investors away from the LME and left the exchange wading through lawsuits and regulatory scrutiny, while its nickel contract remained in tatters.