The London Metal Exchange (LME) nickel futures price increased by US$53/ton and closed at US$15,451/ton yesterday on January 8. Meanwhile, the nickel spot price also went up by US$55/ton to US$15,226/ton. The nickel inventory at LME kept flat at 165,366 tons. Since the beginning of this month, there has been an increase of 4,830 tons, representing a 3% growth.

Despite the continued strength of the US dollar, signals of monetary easing from the Chinese government have driven up stainless steel futures in China, lifting prices back above CNY13,000/ton. Meanwhile, Chinese battery materials producer GEM will expand the production capacity of the ternary precursor plant in Indonesia to 50,000 tons, bolstering market confidence in the nickel supply chain. Consequently, nickel prices are on the rise and are anticipated to exhibit a strong and volatile trend in the near term.