Global Commodities Holdings launches trading in nickel premiums

LONDON: UK-based Global Commodities Holdings Ltd (GCH) launched trading in premiums for physical nickel on Thursday after an initial nickel product last year failed to gain traction, the company said.

Last year, GCH started trading in fixed-price nickel products, providing an additional venue to the Shanghai Futures Exchange and London Metal Exchange.

The LME lost the confidence of many users after a nickel crisis in 2022, but LME nickel volumes have recently rebounded.

Fixed-priced nickel trading saw modest interest, with participants citing the lack of tools to hedge their price risk, GCH told Reuters.

The new nickel offering will allow buyers and sellers to mitigate the price risk by fixing physical prices in relation to the average settlement price on the LME, the world’s biggest trading venue for nickel and other industrial metals.

It will also allow participants to set variables such as the product, including cathodes and briquettes, origin and delivery point.