Base metals price largely held firm on the London Metal Exchange during morning trading on Friday April 20, except for nickel which retreated back below $15,000 per tonne on profit-taking.
Nickel's spike to a three-and-a-half-year high of $16,690 per tonne on Thursday was bolstered by concerns over risks of further US sanctions against key Russian firms, namely Russian nickel producer Nornickel. Nickel's three-month price made intraday moves of $1,670 per tonne on Wednesday and $1,810 on Thursday, the widest since 2009. "Nickel is down at the moment, and the rise earlier this week was built on fears of further sanctions. Those fears have slightly softened in last 24 hours, with nothing set in stone," Geordie Wilkes, head of research at Sucden Financial, told Metal Bulletin. "Aluminium is up on the day, but tame compared to earlier moves this week. There's been talk of the Kremlin stepping in to help UC Rusal, which asks the question as to whether Rusal is too big...