By - Rishika Raina
Highlights
- The London Metal Exchange (LME) has been on a roller coaster ride over the past two weeks while facing rising prices, technical hiccups as well as trading interruptions.
- The price of nickel has been soaring lately and heavy selling has been taking place in the global markets.
The 145-year-old London Metal Exchange (LME) has been on a roller coaster ride over the past two weeks after facing rising prices, technical hiccups as well as trading interruptions. The major reason for the chaotic trading on the LME is nickel, which had a 12% decline in its three-month contract on Friday, 18 March, opening at US$36,915 a metric ton, as per Refinitiv data.
Heavy selling has been taking place in the global markets. On 8 March, the prices of nickel surged by more than 100%, crossing the US$100,000 a metric ton mark after substantially huge buying of the metal by China’s Tsingshan Holding Group to reduce its short bets. This price rally took place during a phase of turmoil caused by the Russia-Ukraine war, which pushed the already increasing prices further up.
After the nickel trading was suspended in a rare move, attempts were made to revive the trading of nickel on Wednesday, however, the attempts failed and there was a brief halt on the exchange again. The trading range installed by the exchange stood at 5%, 8%, and 12% on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, respectively.
Amid the soaring nickel prices, let’s look at 5 UK stocks that investors can add to their portfolio, of course after a thorough research.
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BHP Group Limited (LON: BHP)
Australia-based mining firm BHP Group Ltd’s mine-to-market business operates at several sites in the western region of Australia. The market cap of the firm stands at £54,364.73 million as of 18 March 2022. The performance of the mining business has been good over and it has given its shareholders a return of 25.45% over the past year as of 18 March 2022, while its return stands at 17.53% on a year-to-date basis. BHP Group Ltd’s shares closed at GBX 2,585.00, up by 0.43%, on 18 March 2022.
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Glencore plc (LON: GLEN)
Anglo-Swiss mining giant Glencore plc is engaged in commodity trading and is a major producer of nickel among other metals. The market cap of the firm stands at £62,611.90 million as of 18 March 2022. The performance of the FTSE 100 firm has been very decent over and it has given its shareholders a return of 69.95% over the past year as of 18 March 2022, while its return stands at 27.82% on a year-to-date basis. Glencore plc’s shares closed at GBX 479.25, up by 0.87%, on 18 March 2022.
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Rio Tinto plc (LON: RIO)
The second biggest mining and metals business worldwide after BHP, Rio Tinto plc, is a leading global producer and processor of nickel. The market cap of the firm stands at £62,611.90 million as of 18 March 2022. The FTSE 100 company has given its shareholders a return of 2.74% over the past year as of 18 March 2022, however, it has given better returns this year with its year-to-date return at 14.90%. Rio Tinto plc’s shares closed at GBX 5,621.00, up by 0.46%, on 18 March 2022.
Anglo American plc (LON: AAL)
London-headquartered mining business Anglo American plc is the leading global producer of platinum and mines nickel among various other metals. The market cap of the firm stands at £48,875.50 million as of 18 March 2022. The performance of the FTSE 100 firm has been good over and it has given its shareholders a return of 31.38% over the past year as of 18 March 2022, while its return stands at 22.17% on a year-to-date basis. Anglo American plc’s shares closed at GBX 3,684.50, up by 0.83%, on 18 March 2022.