One Year Later, LME Nickel Trading Remains Crippled by Crisis

One year since a runaway short squeeze that transfixed the global financial world, the London Metal Exchange’s nickel market is still struggling to get back on its feet.

Average daily trading volumes are stuck at less than half the levels from before the crisis, while the number of open contracts has dropped by more than a third. The decline in activity has left the market vulnerable to erratic swings and raised questions about its continued viability as the place where benchmark prices are set for one of the world’s most important metals.

And the LME itself is still wading through ...