The benchmark three-month nickel contract on London Metal Exchange declined 12 per cent on Friday morning to hit a lower circuit, CNBC reported. The price of nickel hit $36,915 a tonne as it opened for trade.
Heavy selling in international metal markets weighed on the contracts. Nickel is widely used in stainless steel and electric-vehicle batteries.
On March 8, nickel contracts on the London-based exchanges surged as much as 111 per cent to breach $100,000 per tonne.
Following the unprecedented increase in its price, the exchange had suspended the trading in the most-active three-month contract for the rest of the session.
Then, on Wednesday, March 16, the exchange resumed the trade in nickel, however, soon it had to be suspended as some "system error" surfaced on the pricing front.
(With inputs from IANS)
