The London Metal Exchange three-month nickel price gained 2.4% on the previous day's close to hit a high of $12,295 per tonne during morning trading on Wednesday May 6, as China's return to market proved to be a tailwind for nickel demand and the metal's outright price.
China's re-entry into the market at a time when the country is restarting its commercial activities is expected to bolster metals demand and subsequently prices, with that of nickel being buoyed by stockpiling to satisfy forward demand. "Chinese infrastructure projects will start to gain momentum and as has been said will consume huge amounts of metals with steel and copper leading the way," Kingdom Futures chief executive officer Malcolm Freeman said in a morning note. "In the last week there has been a renewal of pricing on the LME officials by some European customers suggesting that...