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- Geoffrey Hinton, soft-spoken godfather of AI
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- Duo wins Physics Nobel for 'foundational' AI breakthroughs
- German 'Maddie' suspect could be free in 2025 after cleared of separate sex crimes
- China slaps provisional tariffs on EU brandy imports
- Ex-skipper Skelton eyes Wallabies November return
- Spanish great Iniesta leaves indelible legacy after retirement
- Indian Kashmir elects first regional government in a decade
- Hong Kong stocks crash, oil prices retreat on fading China boost
- Man City accuse Premier League of 'misleading' claims after legal case
- Duo wins Physics Nobel for key breakthroughs in AI
- Agha defies England as Pakistan post 515-8 in first Test
- September second-warmest on record: EU climate monitor
- Pastor wanted by US for sex trafficking to run for Philippine senate
- Mozambican writer Mia Couto dreams future leaders set an 'example'
- German 'Maddie' suspect could be free soon after cleared of separate sex crimes
- China says to take anti-dumping measures against EU brandy imports
- German suspect in 'Maddie' case cleared in separate sex crimes trial
- Israel expands offensive against Hezbollah in south Lebanon
- China stocks rally fizzles on stimulus worries amid Asia retreat
- Bangladesh's Yunus says no elections before reforms
- England strike twice as Pakistan reach 397-6 at lunch in first Test
- China stocks rally peters out on stimulus worries amid Asia retreat
- Taiwan's Foxconn says building world's largest 'superchip' plant
- Kenya's deputy president faces impeachment vote
- N. Korean soldiers 'highly likely' killed in Ukraine: Seoul
- 'Appeals Centre' to referee EU social media disputes
- US Supreme Court to hear 'ghost guns' regulation case
- 'Small' oil leaks detected in Samoa after NZ navy shipwreck
- Nobel literature jury may go for non-Western writer
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- New Japan PM to hold talks on ASEAN sidelines
- Record number of climbers chase 14-peak dream in Tibet
- Former South Korea clinic for US 'comfort women' to be demolished
- China holds off on fresh stimulus but 'confident' will hit growth target
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London suspends nickel trade after record spike
The London Metal Exchange on Tuesday suspended trade in nickel after the base metal rocketed to a record peak above $100,000 as Russian supply concerns sparked sharp volatility.
"Following further unprecedented overnight increases in the three-month nickel price, the LME has made the decision to suspend trading for, at minimum, the remainder of today," the exchange said in a brief statement.
Nickel earlier spiked to an all-time pinnacle of $101,365 per tonne.
It later settled back to $80,000, up 66.4 percent from Monday, before the market was halted.
"We suspect that a so-called short squeeze is partly responsible for the extraordinary price surge, in addition to the concerns about supply," said Commerzbank analyst Daniel Briesemann.
"Some market participants who had been betting on falling prices were clearly surprised and wrong-footed by the price upswing and momentum since Russia's invasion of Ukraine."
A short squeeze occurs when investors bet on falling prices but are then wrong-footed by the market and forced to close out their positions and purchase at a far higher price, sparking a volatile spike.
"We regard the price surge as exaggerated and expect trading to calm down again once the short squeeze has run its course," cautioned Briesemann.
Russia, which invaded its neighbour Ukraine 13 days ago, is a major producer of the metal used to make stainless steel and batteries for electric vehicles.
As a result, nickel has blazed a record-breaking trail, after jumping to $54,880 on Monday to shatter its prior 2007 peak.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Western sanctions against Moscow have caused turmoil in commodity markets, sending the prices of everything from oil to gas to aluminium to wheat soaring.
Russia is the world's third biggest producer of nickel, noted Benjamin Louvet, analyst at OFI Asset Management.
"For now, the main producers of metals in the country have been spared by sanctions, but many companies in this sector are headed by oligarchs close to Vladimir Putin," Louvet said.
"The impact of such sanctions could be significant, as 37 percent of Russian exports go to the Netherlands and 16 percent to Germany," he said.
O.Norris--AMWN