The London Metal Exchange (LME) nickel futures price hiked by US$243/ton and closed at US$15,901/ton on January 13. Meanwhile, the nickel spot price also soared by US$225/ton to US$15,676/ton. The nickel inventory at LME kept flat at 164,904 tons.

Despite the US dollar's continued strength and the dollar index hitting a two-year high, market sentiment improved due to positive macroeconomic expectations in China. This drove another surge in stainless steel futures. Furthermore, disruptions in Indonesian mining operations kept nickel ore prices stable, fueling additional increases in nickel prices. However, the oversupply in the nickel market may lead to short-term volatility.