"We are continuously conducting market analysis and research. Currently, we are looking at nickel sulphate and welcoming market opinion," Ivy Qi, an official at LME's product development department, said at the Fastmarkets China Battery Raw Materials Conference held in Shanghai.
Nickel sulphate is a form of nickel used in EV batteries. Its nickel content is lower than the almost-pure nickel contract, or Class 1 nickel, traded on the LME.
With Indonesia rising as the top global producer of nickel products, most of the world supply is in a lower purity form of so-called Class 2 nickel.
The LME had said that it stood ready to launch Class 2 contracts should the market desire such products, but it said the feedback from market participants "strongly suggests limited appetite."
Abaxx Commodities Exchange, a new Singapore-based commodities exchange owned by Canadian-listed Abaxx Technologies Inc, said in October it aimed to launch the world's first futures contract for nickel sulphate by the year-end.
Futures contracts give producers, industrial consumers and investors an easy way to trade products while also allowing hedging of prices to help with financial planning.
(Reporting by Siyi Liu in Shanghai and Mai Nguyen in Hanoi; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
