Nickel prices touched $22 935 a tonne on Friday, the highest since 2011, while on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE) prices are at their highest since contract launch in 2015.
Stainless steel accounts for about two-thirds of global nickel consumption estimated at around three million tonnes this year. Electric vehicle batteries are expected to double their share to around 20% by 2025.
Shortages of nickel cathode such as that produced by Russia's Norilsk Nickel that can be delivered against the Shanghai contract, is one reason behind the price rally.
Nornickel's output fell after flooding at two of its Arctic mines stopped production for several months in 2021.
However, it expects to produce 205 000 to 215 000 t of nickel this year compared with 190 000 t to 200 000 t last year.
