Nickel surges

COMMODITY SPIKES

Nickel cathode gained 4.84 per cent in Mumbai non-ferrous metals market on firm support from London, where the silvery white metal closed up 8.70 per cent during the week.

Polled price collected by the NCDEX, however, witnessed a gain of about 9 per cent to Rs 1839 a kg towards the end from Rs 1692 a kg in the beginning of the week.

Nickel closed the week at Rs 1950 a kg up from Rs 1860 a kg on Monday, indicating higher demand from global stainless steel industry.

In London, nickel price closed on Friday at $41750 as against $38410 in the beginning of the week.

The metal slightly slumped towards the end of the week due to profit taking by traders ahead of Lunar Year holiday in China and President holiday in the US.

Nickel fell in London after trading at a record yesterday as stockpiles increased, raising supplies of the metal used to make stainless steel.

Inventories monitored by the LME rose by 162 tonne to 4,152 tonne, the exchange said. That's equal to less than one day of global consumption.

Nickel traded at a record $39,501 a tonne yesterday after metal due for delivery from LME-registered warehouses, known as cancelled warrants, more than tripled this week.

Supply of the metal remained tight amid no fresh capacity additions by the leading producers of nickel.

Nickel for delivery in three months on the LME fell $200, or 0.5 per cent $39,300 a tonne. The metal has been the best performer among the six main metals traded on the LME this year, up 17 per cent.