Nickel price explodes: London Metal Exchange suspends trading

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Because of the Ukraine war
Nickel price explodes: London Metal Exchange suspends trading

The nickel price rose to more than $100,000 per ton – a record high

© Ben Stansall / AFP

The nickel price has skyrocketed – by more than 50 percent. The London Metal Exchange halted trading. The reasons for the increase are said to be speculation and the sanctions against Russia.

The Ukraine war has led to severe upheavals on the nickel market. On Tuesday, the price of a ton of the industrial metal rose by more than 50 percent to over $100,000 at times.

Trading on the London Commodities Exchange was then suspended – possibly for several days, as the LME exchange explained. Since Monday alone, the top price has more than tripled.

Nickel price explodes: London Metal Exchange halts trading

Experts attribute the extreme price increase primarily to speculators who had previously bet on falling prices. At the same time, there is a shortage of supply. The price of nickel had already risen significantly before the war. If the price then continues to rise, more and more speculators who have bet on a falling course get into trouble. They then have to buy nickel to close out their positions, which drives the price even higher.

Ukraine war

The “Putin Understanders”: Who still stands by Russia and why


Belarus ruler Alexander Lukashenko and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin shake hands

Belarus

Alexander Lukashenko (l.), President of Belarus, takes a very clear stance on the Ukraine war – on the side of Vladimir Putin. He supported the attack on the Ukraine by allowing the Russian troops to march across his territory to the southern neighbor. One reason might be the dependency on Russia.
Lukashenko is not recognized by the EU as the legitimate President of Belarus. Western countries accuse him of human rights violations and electoral fraud. Despite – or possibly because of – the sanctions against Belarus and Russia, the two states announced that they would further expand their cooperation. Lukashenko recently commented that the sanctions were difficult. “But they won’t be able to suffocate us.”

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“Some market participants who have bet on falling prices have apparently been surprised and caught on the wrong foot by the price increases and dynamics since the Ukraine invasion by Russia,” explained Commerzbank commodities expert Daniel Briesemann.

Sanctions are also a reason for the price increase

In addition, there are expected delivery bottlenecks as a result of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine and the sanctions imposed as a result. Russia is one of the world’s largest exporters of nickel. Nickel is particularly important for the refinement of steel products, but the element also plays a role in the manufacture of batteries for electric cars, for example.

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