The nickel price on the London Metal Exchange (LME) has risen for six consecutive trading days. The price hit an 11-year high yesterday (February 21), closing at the US$24,400/ton level. The spot price also soared by US$262/ton, reaching US$24,871/ton.

The nickel price has totally increased by US$1,093 last week, with an increase of 4.7%, the consecutive hike for three weeks. The price has risen for six days, up by 5.6% or US$1,298.

The monthly average nickel price this month reached US$23,629/ton, higher than the US$22,355/ton in the previous month.

Meanwhile, LME’s market inventory of nickel dropped by 54 tons yesterday, coming to 83,274 tons. The decrease in February has amounted to 7,326 tons.

According to market participants, the LME nickel inventory has plummeted by 69% since last April. Due to the optimistic outlook for new energy vehicles in China and the unsolved Russia-Ukraine crisis, the market is still in concerns about disrupted supply. Therefore, it was expected that the nickel price will keep firm in the short term.