LONDON (Reuters) -The London Metal Exchange’s (LME) three-month nickel contract rose at the open on Wednesday for the first time since trading resumed on March 16.
LME nickel climbed 5.5% and was up 3.2% at $29,035 at 0812 GMT with 365 lots traded.
LME benchmark nickel slumped for several days in very low volumes and hit its lower trading limit after trade was restarted after a break to calm the market.
But volumes have picked up, suggesting the market is starting to return to normal after two weeks of chaos in which the world’s most important nickel trading venue endured a price surge followed by a six-day trading suspension and a problematic restart hit by technical glitches.
The LME, owned by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd, suspended nickel trading on March 8 after prices spiked by more than 50% to over $100,000 a tonne.
(Reporting by Eric Onstad; editing by Toby Chopra and Jason Neely)
