Nickel fell this week. The world market is particularly worried regarding the persistent diplomatic tensions between the United States and China, which are the largest consumers of industrial metals on the planet.
•
Nickel resisted at first before nosediving over the week, weighed down by the resistance of inflation in the United States, which might mean a further rise in the key rates of the Fed.
However, a rise in interest rates might weigh on growth and on demand for industrial metals for infrastructure and the construction industry.
The negative trend is growing. We are approaching 24,000 dollars per ton, far from the 30,000 dollars of February 1.
The recovery has not only lost momentum, but there is enough volatility in the nickel market to be uncertain regarding price developments.
Even the rainy season in the Philippines, which slows down ore exports, has not changed anything, nor has the drop in ore stocks in Chinese ports, which have fallen by 425,000 tons.
Recession fears and the impact of diminishing demand largely fueled the bearish narrative. “Chinese electric vehicle sales were disappointing at a time when the battery supply chain was destocking. Prices for inputs such as nickel sulphate and lithium fell,” said Al Munro, an analyst at LME trader Marex.
In an attempt to revive, the London Metal Exchange (LME) has planned to reopen nickel trading on Asia-Pacific times from March 20, 2023.
LME Nickel on 02/25/2023: $24,424 per ton down 3.79% on Friday and 5.31% over the week. Last Friday, the nickel was worth $25,679 and $27,794 the week before.
