Nickel prices on the London Metal Exchange finished 2.4% higher at the close of trading on Friday June 1, recording gains of 5% on the week amid a broadly stronger base metals complex.
The metal has recorded 19 straight days of inventory decline following disruptions to Chinese stainless steel supply due to environmental concerns, leaving total stocks at 290,604 tonnes, their lowest since June 2014.While its three-month price spent most of the week consolidating around $15,000 per tonne, nickel prices rallied 3.7% during the day's trading to reach a high of $15,690 per tonne. Electric vehicle developments are also supporting prices for the metal. "Carmakers including VW-owned Porsche and Toyota have signaled they will move away from diesel technology while Swedish carmaker Volvo aims to produce only electric vehicles by 2019. As such, global consumption of nickel for EV batteries is likely to rise over the coming years," Andy Farida, analyst at Metal Bulletin...