Shanghai nickel prices surged on Friday, with the benchmark contract hitting its upper limit in early trade on a strong demand outlook and continued speculative buying in ferrous futures markets in China.

The most-active January nickel contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange ended the morning session up 3.8% at 128,220 yuan ($19,609.10), after hitting the day's upper limit at 130,880 yuan.

Benchmark nickel on the London Metal Exchange (LME), however, slipped 0.6% to $17,320 a tonne by 0442 GMT, after rising to a more than one-year peak on Thursday.

Nickel, used in stainless steel, has gained 13% in the Shanghai bourse this year, while LME nickel has risen around 23% on strong demand from Chinese stainless steel producers and a supply crunch due to an Indonesian export ban.

"Although the stainless steel sector remains the dominant consumer of nickel, non-stainless demand holds the key for demand growth in the medium and long term," commodity strategists at ANZ said.

Demand for battery-grade nickel continues to surge, and non-stainless steel demand for nickel is likely to grow by 8% to 10% in 2020 and 2021, they said.