Industrial metals
Nickel trading: stainless steel, batteries and exchange risk
Most nickel goes into stainless steel. Batteries use particular nickel products. The exchange contract accepts particular forms. A headline about batteries is not a description of every tonne, and the listed market has been thin enough to gap.
Market overview
Supply is concentrated. Demand from stainless steel is the base. Battery chemistries add a second demand that does not use every nickel intermediate.
The LME contract defines what it will take. Metal outside that definition can be plentiful while the deliverable market is tight, or the reverse. This page does not state a lot size.
What tends to move it
Stainless steel
The main use. Construction and manufacturing pull it.
Battery chemistry
A real use and not a synonym for all nickel.
Supply concentration
A disruption at a large producer is a market event.
Exchange microstructure
Thin books and sudden rule changes have been part of this market’s history.
Ways to take the exposure
These are different legal positions. A platform may offer one and not the others. Nothing here is available in every country.
LME nickel
The main listed contract. Read what is deliverable.
Producer shares
A mine or a refiner, with its own costs.
CFDs
A firm’s price. Not a warrant, and not confirmed unless the note names nickel.
Contract specifications
London Metal Exchange
Contract unit, tick and margin are on the exchange page. They are not reprinted here.
Read the exchange pageIllustrative contract value
What the costs usually are
In a thin contract the spread can dominate commission. Financing and the roll are extra. Missing fee data in the provider directory is left missing.
What a headline commission leaves out of the bill separates the commission from the spread, financing and other charges.
Risks that belong to this market
Gaps and liquidity
Prices can jump and an exit can be unavailable at the screen price.
Product class
Battery-grade material and exchange brands are not identical.
Rule changes
Exchanges can alter trading conditions under stress. That is an operational risk.
Providers in the commodities directory
The rows come from the existing commodities research note. No second provider list was created. No commercial relationship is recorded on these rows, so the button goes to the firm’s own site. This is not a ranking.
AvaTrade
Group listing only
Metals, energy and agricultural commodity CFDs depending entity
Pricing line. Spread-based; product/entity-specific fees
Platforms. WebTrader; AvaTrade app; MT4; MT5; AvaOptions
Fees that are not in the note are not shown as zero. Eligibility where you live is not confirmed.
Capital.com
Group listing only
65+ commodity CFDs provider-stated across metals, energy and soft/agricultural markets
Pricing line. Spread-based, no commission on cited CFD proposition; other costs apply
Platforms. Capital.com web/mobile; TradingView; MT4/MT5 on current international page
Fees that are not in the note are not shown as zero. Eligibility where you live is not confirmed.
CMC Markets
Group listing only
Commodity CFDs across metals, energy and soft commodities; investing offering differs by region
Pricing line. Spread-based CFD pricing; investing fees region-specific
Platforms. Next Generation; MT4/MT5 in selected regions; mobile/web
Fees that are not in the note are not shown as zero. Eligibility where you live is not confirmed.
eToro
Group listing only
Gold, oil, copper and other commodities primarily via CFDs; commodity ETFs can offer non-CFD exposure
Pricing line. Spread/overnight/product-specific fees
Platforms. Web; mobile
Fees that are not in the note are not shown as zero. Eligibility where you live is not confirmed.
FOREX.com
Group listing only
A published range includes crude oil, natural gas, corn and metals.
Pricing line. Spread-based commodity CFDs; financing can apply
Platforms. FOREX.com proprietary; TradingView; MT5/MT4 depending region
Fees that are not in the note are not shown as zero. Eligibility where you live is not confirmed.
IG
Group listing only
Commodities including metals, energy and other markets mainly through CFDs/spread betting, plus region-specific investing products
Pricing line. Spread/commission by product/entity
Platforms. IG web/mobile; MT4 in selected regions; ProRealTime integrations
Fees that are not in the note are not shown as zero. Eligibility where you live is not confirmed.
Interactive Brokers
Group listing only
Energy, metals, agriculture and related commodity products via futures, ETFs/ETPs and metals
Pricing line. Product/exchange commissions + market-data fees; fund/ETF pricing varies
Platforms. Trader Workstation; IBKR Desktop; Client Portal; GlobalTrader; mobile
Fees that are not in the note are not shown as zero. Eligibility where you live is not confirmed.
OANDA
Group listing only
Hard and soft commodity CFDs including oil, copper, natural gas, corn plus precious metals
Pricing line. Spread-based commodity/metal CFDs
Platforms. OANDA web/mobile; MT4; MT5; TradingView
Fees that are not in the note are not shown as zero. Eligibility where you live is not confirmed.
Pepperstone
Group listing only
40 spot commodity markets across metals, energies and softs on cited UK page
Pricing line. Spread-based; Razor pricing applies to some products
Platforms. Pepperstone platform; MT4; MT5; cTrader; TradingView
Fees that are not in the note are not shown as zero. Eligibility where you live is not confirmed.
Plus500
Group listing only
Gold, silver, oil, Brent, heating oil, copper, aluminium and other commodity CFDs
Pricing line. Spread/financing-based CFD pricing; regional products differ
Platforms. Proprietary web/mobile
Fees that are not in the note are not shown as zero. Eligibility where you live is not confirmed.
Saxo
Group listing only
Commodity CFDs, futures, options, spot metals and ETCs across energy, metals and agriculture
Pricing line. Tiered commissions/spreads by product and account tier
Platforms. SaxoInvestor; SaxoTrader; web/mobile
Fees that are not in the note are not shown as zero. Eligibility where you live is not confirmed.
Swissquote
Group listing only
Metals, commodity-linked funds/ETPs and derivatives depending account/entity
Pricing line. Product/account-specific fees
Platforms. Swissquote web/mobile; MT4/MT5/CFXD in relevant accounts
Fees that are not in the note are not shown as zero. Eligibility where you live is not confirmed.
Compare selected providers
Select two or three providers. The limit is three.
Calculators
Each tool starts from numbers you type. This page does not send a contract size or a live price into them.
Position size
You type the contract multiplier. This page does not insert one.
OpenFutures margin
Tick value and margin come from the specification you enter.
OpenRisk and reward
A planned payoff. It does not grade the trade.
OpenProfit and loss
A result from prices you type.
OpenStop and target
Distances you choose, not a market order.
OpenTrading journal
A record of trades you enter.
OpenTrading performance
Figures from the journal, not from a feed.
OpenWhat a commission leaves out
How spread, fees and financing sit beside a headline commission.
OpenThe tonne the exchange will take
Nickel comes in more than one commercial form. The futures market standardises one of them. A surplus of a form the exchange will not take does not cap the futures price, and a shortage of deliverable metal can appear while other nickel still exists.
Position size matters more here than in copper. The directory is not treated as a list of confirmed nickel brokers.
Questions
Is every nickel product a battery metal?
No. Stainless steel is the larger use. Batteries take specific products.
Why is liquidity part of the description?
The contract has gapped in the past. A research view that ignores the exit is incomplete.
Sources and review
Written by: WiT Markets Editorial. Writes and structures WiT Markets pages. Separates a sourced fact from a cell that is Not confirmed.
Review: Editorially reviewed. This is not a qualified specialist review and it is not a legal sign-off.
Last reviewed: . Next review due . The date is an editorial pass. It is not a live check of every third-party fee.
Other sources
- London Metal Exchange — checked 16 October 2026
- WiT Markets methodology — checked 13 October 2026
Methodology. Editorial policy. Corrections. Report an error.