Nickel price increases in $28,300/ton

On 14 December, the London Metal Exchange (LME) nickel price was rising US$78/t to close at US$28,365/ton. Meanwhile, nickel spot price increased by US$136/t to US$28,143/ton.

At the same time, nickel stock in LME increased by 456 tons to 53,334 tons.

In December, the cumulative increase in nickel prices was US$1,378/t, up 5.1%. The monthly average nickel price, on the other hand, increased by 13.1% compared to the average price in November, reaching US$28,925/ton.

Market participants indicated that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) has increased the interest rate by 50 basis points and that there will be more rate hikes likely in 2023. However, the US dollar weakened after gaining significant value. Meanwhile, purchases from downstream buyers improved somewhat, but overall demand was still low. As a result, nickel prices may fluctuate on the low side in the short term.