The London Metal Exchange (LME) nickel futures price slightly increased by US$3/ton and closed at US$16,276/ton on August 5. Meanwhile, the nickel spot price also went up by US$4/ton to US$16,017/ton. The nickel inventory at LME decreased by 18 tons to 110,106 tons.

The poor performance of US non-farm employment data for July raised concerns about demand in the market. On the other hand, nickel inventories on LME started to decline. Although this decrease was not substantial, it marked the first drop since June 11, which helped to stabilize nickel prices.

Additionally, the weakening US dollar provided further support for nickel prices. Market participants noted that while demand from the downstream stainless steel sector remained weak, the price of nickel-iron remained firm. This suggested that nickel prices may continue to exhibit volatility in the short term.