On August 11, the London Metal Exchange (LME) nickel futures prices hiked by US$195/ton and closed at US$15,351/ton. Meanwhile, the spot prices also went up greatly by US$187/ton to US$15,144/ton. Also, LME-monitored nickel inventories on the 11th fell by 936 tons to 211,296 tons, reversing the previous trend.

After a sharp rise on the 11th, nickel prices reached a half-month high since July 25. So far this month, prices have risen by a total of US$415, an increase of 2.8%. Year-to-date, the prices have gained by US$23/ton, up by 0.15%. Last week alone, prices rose by US$169, representing a 1.12% increase.

Despite the continued strength of the US dollar, the entry of President Trump’s nominees into the Federal Reserve Board led the market to anticipate that the Fed may cut interest rates earlier than expected. Meanwhile, production cuts at steel mills pushed up stainless steel prices in China, supporting further increases in nickel prices. LME nickel inventories have also declined. Therefore, the market expects nickel prices to remain relatively strong and volatile in the short term.