Nickel bounces back to breach $7/pound
Nickel prices have rebounded to their highest level in nearly two months supported by rallies in other non-ferrous metals and continued strong demand forecasts.
LME 3-month nickel breached the $7 per pound mark on Monday, trading as high as $7.03/lb despite steadily rising warehouse stock levels. Market observers attributed much of the upward momentum to rising prices for copper, aluminium and zinc. Nickel often moves in tandem with these metals, particularly copper.
LME nickel prices had fallen approximately 15% since early June, touching six-month lows of $6.39/lb as recently as August 2. LME warehouse stocks, meanwhile, have risen 12% since the second week of July to more than 7,600 tonnes, but are still relatively low in historical terms.
Australia-based Macquarie Bank recently released an updated nickel report predicting that nickel demand will remain strong for the next four years or so in a range of $4.50-$6.35/lb until 2009. While these levels are below recent LME prices, they are significantly above price levels seen in recent years. In 2001, for example, the average nickel price was only $2.70/lb, and in 2002 it was barely above $3.
LME 3-month nickel breached the $7 per pound mark on Monday, trading as high as $7.03/lb despite steadily rising warehouse stock levels. Market observers attributed much of the upward momentum to rising prices for copper, aluminium and zinc. Nickel often moves in tandem with these metals, particularly copper.
LME nickel prices had fallen approximately 15% since early June, touching six-month lows of $6.39/lb as recently as August 2. LME warehouse stocks, meanwhile, have risen 12% since the second week of July to more than 7,600 tonnes, but are still relatively low in historical terms.
Australia-based Macquarie Bank recently released an updated nickel report predicting that nickel demand will remain strong for the next four years or so in a range of $4.50-$6.35/lb until 2009. While these levels are below recent LME prices, they are significantly above price levels seen in recent years. In 2001, for example, the average nickel price was only $2.70/lb, and in 2002 it was barely above $3.