A new generation of lithium-iron-phosphate batteries, which don't use nickel, is grabbing a growing share of the Chinese market. The technology has even got the Elon Musk nod of approval.
The metals sector has struggled with adopting common standards for low-carbon aluminium as rival producers fight for market share among consumers who are under pressure to cut their own emissions footprints.
S&P Global Platts said it would start issuing daily prices for both low-carbon and zero-carbon aluminium on April 6.
LME nickel, despite rebounding 0.6% to $16,230 a tonne, was on track for its biggest weekly loss since September 2011 after shedding a combined 14% in the previous two sessions.
Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME), which hit a 10-year high of $9,617 a tonne last week, was on track for its worst day since October as it lost 4.2% to $8,720.
Nickel, meanwhile, tumbled for a second day. Having reached a seven-year high of $20,110 last week, it traded at $16,175 a tonne, down 7.1% and set for its biggest one-day loss since 2016.
China announced on Monday weaker-than-expected February activity growth in the manufacturing sector, one of the biggest consumers of industrial metals.
The most-traded April copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange advanced 0.8% to 68,110 yuan ($10,541.71) a tonne, having hit its highest since August 2011 at 68,880 yuan a tonne earlier in the session.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 1.3% to $9,214 a tonne by 0252 GMT, having hit a 9-1/2-year high of $9,269.50 a tonne in the previous session.
Trading was subdued as the Shanghai Futures Exchange is shut during Feb. 11-17 for the Lunar New Year holidays in China, the world's top metals consumer.
The dollar languished near its lowest in a week as investors began entertaining doubts about the scale of a recent rally driven by expectations of a faster pandemic recovery in the United States than elsewhere.
"Inventories are still quite low on exchanges. That gives good indication that manufacturing demand for copper is present and that its not just a speculative story,".
Zinc inventories in LME warehouses were last at 293,800 tonnes, down just 700 tonnes from the previous session where stockpiles hit their highest since June 2017 at 294,500 tonnes.