Nickel price hits highest in a month with inventories close to record lows

The nickel price rose on Monday to their highest level in more than one month, with inventories hovering close to record lows.

The most actively traded February nickel contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange ended daytime trading up 2.5% at 154,840 yuan ($24,300.06) a tonne. Earlier in the session, prices rose to 155,160 yuan, the highest since November 25.

Three-month delivery nickel on the London Metal Exchange was up 0.9% at $20,915 a tonne, as of 0305 GMT, a jump of more than 15% since last January.

“Nickel prices are expected to remain strong in the short-term amid low inventories and destocking expectations, but increasing capacity from Indonesia will curb further increase in the medium- to long-term,” analysts with Jinrui Futures wrote in a note.