Nickel slips more than 3.0pc

Nickel slid more than 3.0 per cent on Thursday in an accelerating correction after rising to more than two-year highs last week on speculation that an expected electric vehicle boom would drive up demand, reports Reuters.

Nickel prices surged almost 10 per cent during the annual London Metal Exchange Week industry gathering on expectations that nickel demand for use in lithium ion batteries would increase as manufacturers turned to cheaper alternatives to cobalt.

The metal has since come under pressure from profit taking after it jumped above $13,000 a tonne, ABN Amro analyst Casper Burgering said, with broader issues such as recent strength in the dollar also feeding into the correction.

"I still think the fundamentals for nickel are sound, though stocks are relatively high," he said.

NICKEL: London Metal Exchange nickel was down 3.6 per cent at $12,240 a tonne at 1030 GMT, on track for its biggest one-day slide since September.