The three-month futures price of nickel on the London Metal Exchange (LME) rose by US$65/ton yesterday (January 10), closing at US$20,799/ton, and the spot price also hiked by US$70/ton, reaching US$20,909/ton.

LME nickel price has totally increased by US$42 so far this month, and the spot price has gone up by US$48.5.

The current monthly average nickel price is US$20,860/ton, higher than the US$20,015.5/ton in the previous month.

Meanwhile, LME’s market inventory of nickel has dropped for 49 days in a row, down by 294 tons on January 10, reaching 99,954 tons. The decrease in January has amounted to 1,932 tons.

According to market participants, LME nickel inventory has fallen below 100,000 tons. It has slid by around 62% since April 2021. Due to the low inventory, strong demand for electric vehicles, and the recovered stainless steel market in China, the short-term nickel price was expected to keep firm.