Elliott Renews Legal Battle Against LME Over Nickel Market Chaos

The filing contends that the exchange failed to implement robust systems for preventing disorderly trading during market stress and neglected to manage internal conflicts of interest. This latest legal action follows a series of failed attempts by the fund to secure damages after the LME suspended trading and canceled billions of dollars in contracts in March 2022. At the time, the exchange cited a potential "death spiral" of defaults triggered by a price rally linked to the invasion of Ukraine as the reason for its intervention.

HKEX dismissed the allegations as meritless and pledged to contest the proceedings, noting that Elliott must first secure permission from the Tribunal to serve the claim. This development arrives on the heels of a 2025 regulatory rebuke, in which the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority fined the LME 9.2 million pounds for inadequate systems and controls. Whether this new competition-focused argument will succeed where previous litigation stalled remains the central question for market observers watching the exchange's governance.