pekka perra spotted at shanghai airport 'just kidding but more ore news 'A SURGE in the price of nickel, driven by ongoing concerns regarding the global supply of the metal, has pushed base metals on the London Metal Exchange to close higher. At the close of open-outcry trading in the British capital on Tuesday, LME 3-month nickel was up some 2.2 per cent at $18,325 per metric tonne. Earlier in the session, the metal hit $18,332 per tonne, its highest price for 14 months. "Used primarily in the stainless steel industry, this metal is currently being driven up by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and associated concerns about supply outages," said analysts at Commerzbank. Nickel prices have surged by more than 30 per cent year-to-date, aided by global supply concerns amid an ongoing ore export ban in Indonesia and persistent tensions over Ukraine. Russia is a major supplier of nickel, and concerns have mounted about the potential for disruption to Russian supply in the event of any sanctions on commodities exports. Indonesia is a key supplier of ore to the Chinese nickel pig iron market. The enforcement of the export ban there, which started in January, has reduced China's port stocks and ore imports. Prices have risen in line with supply limitations. "The ore export ban in Indonesia is probably playing an even bigger role, however, with more and more market participants actually anticipating a supply deficit on the global nickel market before the year is out," it added.
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