Nickel down 3% on profit-booking, global cues

Metal for delivery in May traded lower by 3.2%

Snapping its one-week rally, nickel prices fell sharply by 3.29% to Rs 1,040.50 per kg in futures trade today as participants locked in gains amid a weak trend overseas.

At the Multi Commodity Exchange, nickel for delivery in April declined by Rs 35.40, or 3.29%, to Rs 1,040.50 per kg in a turnover of 10,441 lots.

Similarly, the metal for delivery in May traded lower by Rs 34.60, or 3.20%, to Rs 1,048 per kg in 771 lots.

Traders attributed the fall in nickel prices at futures trade to profit-booking after recent gains and a weak trend in base metals overseas, where it snapped a 11-day rally as a measure for new credit in China, the largest metals consumer, suggested the economy was slowing.
 

Meanwhile, nickel decreased 0.7% to $17,600 per tonne on the London Metal Exchange as a technical indicator suggested to some investors the metal was overnight bought.