The three-month futures price of nickel on the London Metal Exchange (LME) rose by US$77/ton last Friday (December 3), closing at US$20,030/ton. The spot price also hiked by US$104/ton, reaching US$20,171/ton.

The current monthly average nickel price is US$20,096/ton, higher than the US$19,931/ton in the previous month.

Meanwhile, LME’s market inventory of nickel has dropped for 26 days in a row, down by 1,050 tons on December 3, reaching 112,590 tons. The decrease in December has amounted to 1,770 tons so far.

According to market participants, China’s stainless steel futures rebounded and stabilized, coupled with the continued drop in refined nickel inventory and the optimistic demand for new energy vehicles, nickel prices were driven higher. In the short term, nickel prices were expected to keep in a stable trend.