METALS-Shanghai nickel hits near 3-yr high as base metal prices rise

(Recasts, adds analyst comment, updates prices) BEIJING, May 25 (Reuters) - Most base metals rose on Friday, led by nickel in Shanghai as investors bet that demand for the metal would increase in line with China's electric vehicle (EV) boom. The most traded July nickel contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose as much as 3.4 percent to 111,660 yuan ($17,483) a tonne, its highest since June 2015, while nickel on the London Metal Exchange slipped 0.1 percent after a 1.7 percent jump