The London Metal Exchange (LME) nickel futures price hiked by US$132/ton and closed at US$17,473/ton on July 8. Meanwhile, the nickel spot price also climbed by US$116.5/ton to US$17,199/ton. The nickel inventory at LME increased again by 216 tons to 97,470 tons.

Despite the US dollar rebounding and an increase in LME nickel inventories, reports indicate that Nornickel's Finnish factory is planned to be banned from delivery by the LME once again. This has raised concerns about a tight supply of LME deliverable nickel, driving prices higher. However, due to weak demand from the stainless steel sector, the market anticipates that nickel prices will fluctuate in the short term.