The Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd. (MCX) has announced the launch of a Nickel futures contract, effective August 18, 2025. The exchange said the new contract is designed to improve price discovery, provide risk management tools, and encourage wider participation from the value chain.
Nickel is a critical industrial metal used in stainless steel manufacturing, electroplating, EV batteries, and other engineering industries. With India heavily dependent on nickel imports, consuming industries often face price volatility and supply disruptions that affect margins. The launch of the new futures contract aims to provide these industries with a robust hedging mechanism, helping them mitigate both commodity price risk and currency risk, as the contract will be INR-denominated.
The contract will be introduced with a trading unit of 250 kgs and a delivery unit of 1,500 kgs, effective from the September 2025 expiry. The designated delivery centre will be Thane, with deliveries allowed during the last three working days of the contract month. Only LME-approved primary nickel cathodes with a minimum purity of 99.80% will be accepted as good delivery. The tick size has been set at Rs 0.10 per kg, with daily price limits of 4% and margins fixed at a minimum of 10% or SPAN, whichever is higher.
MCX Managing Director and CEO Praveena Rai said the launch is part of the exchange’s efforts to make base metals contracts more efficient and globally aligned. “Our vision is to make India our own price setter for commodities we consume in the country’s drive towards security and self-sufficiency,” she stated.
MCX, operational since 2003, is India’s leading commodity derivatives exchange with about 98% market share in commodity futures contracts traded in FY25. It offers trading across bullion, energy, metals, agri commodities, and sectoral indices, and is also recognized as the largest commodity options exchange globally.
