Due to the sharp reduction in nickel output, LME's three-month nickel futures price once hit a seven-year high. Under such a tight supply, Yieh United Steel Corp. (Yusco) and Tang Eng Iron Works Co., Ltd., two leading stainless steel upstream suppliers in Taiwan, were expected to hike their prices for November, the second consecutive month of price increases.

Nickel miner Vale recently announced that the annual nickel output will drop to 165,000 to 170,000 tons this year, compared to the previous estimate of 200,000 tons.

Besides, Russia’s Nornickel, the world’s largest refined nickel producer, announced an output decline in the third quarter, a year-on-year decrease of 23%. The Philippines, the second-largest nickel producer in the world, was also expected to have an output of 10% less than the average of previous years due to frequent rainfall and fewer vessels.