The three-month futures price of nickel on the London Metal Exchange (LME) soared by US$220/ton on November 12, closing at US$19,979/ton, and the highest intraday hit US$20,020/ton. The nickel futures price has increased by US$545 in total in the past week, with an increase of 2.8%.

The current monthly average nickel price is US$19,661/ton, higher than the US$19,362/ton in the previous month.

Meanwhile, LME’s market inventory of nickel has dropped for 11 days in a row, down by 2,256 tons on November 12, reaching 130,278 tons, the lowest since October 2019. The decrease in November has amounted to 12,762 tons so far.

According to market participants, the supply of nickel ore became uncertain after the Philippines enters the rainy season. Coupled with the drop in the market refined nickel inventory, nickel prices climbed again, and it was expected that nickel prices will keep stable in the short term.