Nickel's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange continued its strong performance during morning trading on Wednesday January 30, moving past $12,300 per tonne for the first time since October 2018 amid a continued drawdown in LME supply.
The metal's three-month price is up more than 15% from its 2018 low of $10,500 per tonne on December 31, while total LME inventory remains at its lowest level since 2014 at just over 200,000 tonnes. Similarly, copper's low inventory count has prompted upticks in the metal's three-month price action, with its futures price nearing $6,100 per tonne. More than 25,000 tonnes of material has been booked for removal from predominantly North American locations this week, prompting the uptrend. Total copper volumes traded on the exchange were high over the morning at 7,400 lots traded by 10:15am London time. Elsewhere, positive risk-appetite has spurred further buying in the metal's space, with the entire complex trading in positive territory over the morning. Scheduled trade talks between the United States and China could be one reason for this, while US Federal Reserve policymakers are expected to hold interest rates after conducting a...