London nickel falls at open, tracking Shanghai price

LONDON (Reuters) - Benchmark nickel on the London Metal Exchange fell 0.2%shortly after the open on Tuesday at $32,660, after sliding 7.8% in the previous session.

By 0822 GMT it was down 0.6% at $32,520 tonne, tracking a near-5% fall in Shanghai nickel earlier.

The LME, owned by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd 0388.HK, suspended nickel trading on March 8 after prices spiked by more than 50% to hit $100,000 a tonne. Trading resumed on March 16.

The surge in prices that triggered the halt was blamed on short-covering by one of the world's top producers, China's Tsingshan Holding Group.

Prices have slipped on lingering concerns over the status of Tsingshan's major short position.

(Reporting by Zandi Shabalala, Editing by Louise Heavens)