Due to Russia’s consideration to consider imposing restrictions on exports of nickel, uranium, and titanium in an attempt to retaliate against Western sanctions imposed over the Ukrainian war, coupled with the expected US Fed’s interest rates cuts, basic metal prices generally rose accordingly, including LME nickel.
On Thursday, LME nickel price closed at US$16,200/ton, an increase of 0.6%, hitting the highest since September 4. SHFE nickel price rose by up to 3% to CNY 124,600/ton.
Russia’s proposed ban could turn the global nickel market from a current oversupply of 100,000 tons to a shortage for 2024/25. Statistics showed that Russia sold 100,990 tons of nickel to overseas markets last year.
According to data on Tuesday, more than a fifth of the nickel in LME-registered warehouses is from Russia.