Nickel Prices

Nickel prices averaged USD 18,793 per metric ton in May, up 5.2% from April. On 29 May, the commodity traded at USD 18,304 per metric ton, down 5.1% from 30 April.

Nickel prices surged at the fastest pace in four months in May, hitting a two-year high. Shrinking inventories in London and restrictions on shipments in Zimbabwe tightened supply and pushed up prices higher; at the same time, a sulfur shortage caused by shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz raised processing costs, adding further upward pressure. The world’s largest nickel producer, Indonesia, relies heavily on sulfur—75% of which it normally imports from the Middle East—to process its ore.