HONG KONG/LONDON—U.S. hedge fund Elliott Associates is suing the London Metal Exchange (LME) for $456 million for cancelling nickel trades after chaotic trading in March that forced the exchange to suspend its nickel market, the LME said on Monday.
The legal action piles more pressure on the exchange, which is being probed by regulators and is struggling to restore trust and volumes in its nickel market.
Elliott said the LME should not have halted trading and erased deals after prices more than doubled to over $100,000 a ton in a matter of hours on March 8.
The LME and LME Clear Limited were named as defendants in the judicial review claim filed in a British court by Elliott Associates and Elliott International last week, the LME’s parent company Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd. said….