The nickel price on the London Metal Exchange (LME) has risen greatly for two consecutive trading days, hitting a new high this month. The price surged by US$339/ton yesterday (February 10), closing at US$23,526/ton, and the highest intraday hit US$23,790/ton. The spot price also soared by US$315/ton, reaching US$23,886/ton.

The monthly average nickel price this month reached US$23,427/ton, higher than the US$22,355/ton in the previous month.

Meanwhile, LME’s market inventory of nickel dropped by 924 tons yesterday, coming to 84,720 tons. The decrease in February has amounted to 5,880 tons.

According to market participants, in spite of inactive transactions in China’s market, the continuous drop in nickel stocks and the tight supply after the Philippines entered the rainy season have caused nickel prices to keep rising. Therefore, it was expected that nickel prices will fluctuate at a high level.