Shanghai Futures Exchange to open nickel contracts to overseas traders

Overseas traders will be allowed to trade nickel futures and options on the Shanghai Futures Exchange from April 22, Reuters reported on Friday, marking the latest step in opening China’s commodity derivatives market to foreign investors.

Trading will begin from the night session on April 21. Nickel futures contracts for delivery from May 2026 (SNIK6) onwards will be opened to overseas participants, as well as options based on the futures, the exchange said in a notice.

Overseas clients may use U.S. dollars as margin, with the exchange valuing those funds at 95% of their face value, ShFE added.

The move follows regulatory approval announced in late January which classified ShFE nickel futures and options, along with 14 other products including lithium carbonate on the Guangzhou Futures Exchange, as "specified domestic products", allowing direct access for overseas investors.

"This is basically the starting chapter of the ShFE internationalisation," said Tiger Shi, managing director of Bands Financial, an overseas intermediary for Chinese commodity derivatives.

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Nickel is a mature contract with ample liquidity, he said. "This has been in preparation and now it's finally come. I think the first time nickel was mentioned was two or three years ago."

The ShFE has been pushing to make more of its contracts accessible to overseas investors as it tries to build its standing in global metals pricing.

Reuters reported last year that the exchange was exploring broader foreign access to its domestic nickel contract as part of that strategy, years after the LME's 2022 nickel trading crisis, which resulted in the eight-day suspension of its nickel contract.

Based on 2025 futures trading volumes, however, the LME still held the larger share of nickel trading at 69.4%, versus 30.6% for ShFE, according to Reuters calculations from exchange data.

"We have a range of clients who are looking to get an account opened and then start trading as soon as this contract is opened," said Shi.

He said he expects the internationalisation of the ShFE's other industrial metals contracts to follow in the coming months.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak