Nickel Is Year’s Biggest Metals Loser, Copper Manages Small Gain
- Nickel slumps 45% this year as supply continues to grow
- Base metals are mostly lower on final trading day of the year
Metals have been pressured throughout this year by global economic headwinds and uncertainty over China’s growth outlook.
Photographer: Dimas Ardian/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
In a mostly lackluster year for metals trading, nickel emerged as the worst performer and might not see a reprieve anytime soon.
The metal used in stainless steel and electric vehicle batteries posted an annual drop of 45% on the London Metal Exchange, the biggest decline since 2008. That’s by far the worst outcome among industrial metals, and contrasts with a 2.2% gain for copper or with iron ore’s advance of about 20% in Singapore.