In a mostly lacklustre year for metals trading, nickel emerged as the worst performer and might not see a reprieve anytime soon. The metal used in stainless steel and electric vehicle batteries posted an annual drop of 45 per cent on the London Metal Exchange, the biggest decline since 2008. That’s by far the worst outcome among industrial metals, and contrasts with a 2.2per cent gain for copper or with iron ore’s advance of about 20 per cent in Singapore. Metals have been pressured this year by global economic headwinds and uncertainty over China’s growth outlook. The LME’s all-in gauge of six metals is down 5.6 per cent for the…
